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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26016052">Walt E. Disney High - Sophomore Year</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/questwing/pseuds/questwing'>questwing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Disney - All Media Types, Frozen (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Disney Movies, Disney Multiverse, Disney References, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>231,463</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26016052</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/questwing/pseuds/questwing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the new girl Moana Motunui joins her new school, Walt E. Disney High, she learns what goes on behind your movie screens with your beloved Disney characters. She gets whisked into the modern Disney world of drama, love triangles, and friend groups that occur in the school. But will any of the characters get their happily ever afters?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Charlotte (Disney), Aladdin/Jasmine (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Ariel/Eric, Ariel/Moana Waialiki (Disney), Aurora/Cinderella (Disney), Aurora/Phillip (Disney), Dimitri | Dmitry/Anya | Anastasia Romanov (Anastasia 1997 &amp; Broadway), Elsa (Disney)/Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney), Eric/Vanessa (Disney), Esmeralda/Milo (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Jane Porter/Tarzan, Kida Nedakh/Milo Thatch, Kuzco/Edward (Disney), Mulan/Giselle (Disney), Nala/Flynn Rider, Peter Pan/Tinker Bell (Peter Pan), Prince Charming/Cinderella (Disney), Prince Charming/Cinderella/Aurora/Philip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>I stumbled out of the taxi, hauling my bags behind me, continuously brushing my curly hair behind my ear until I finally tied it up. In front of me was a large building: the Walt E. Disney High dorms, my new home. I took a deep breath and walked through the doors, up to the front desk. Behind it was a woman with stiff grey hair and a stuffy maroon dress, a sour look on her face. She glared up at me and said, "Name?"</p><p>"I am Moana," I told her nervously. She looked through her computer and papers.</p><p>"Here, you're room 443. You have showers on your floor and you have 3 other roommates. The dining hall is on the first floor, you can find it on the map. Breakfast is at 7 am and dinner is at 6:30 pm. All the rules are on this paper." She handed me a paper with a map, my room, and rules on it.</p><p>"Thank you!" I said, taking the paper. I headed towards the elevators and waited for one to arrive.</p><p>"Hi!" someone said from behind me. I turned and saw a girl with cherry red hair looking at me with bright blue eyes.</p><p>"Hi," I responded, blushing for some reason.</p><p>"I'm Ariel," she told me, extending her hand. I shook it.</p><p>"Moana. I'm new here."</p><p>We entered an elevator right after she said excitedly, "You're Moana! I have been so excited to meet you! Oh, I cant wait to introduce you to my friends. Do you know what dorm you're in?" We began upwards.</p><p>"It says here room 443-"</p><p>"Oh my gosh! That's my room too! We have two more roommates, Anna and Rapunzel. They're my good friends. Here, let me help you with that," she said kindly after I staggered out of the elevator, weighed down by my bags. She took almost all of them, with protest from me, leaving me with just my backpack.</p><p>As we walked down the halls, she said, "I love your necklace. And your sunglasses! I really need new, cute sunglasses. We should go together and you can pick out some cute sunglasses for me!"</p><p>"Oh, thanks!" I said, feeling my face heat up to tomato red, hoping that she couldn't tell. "My necklace is from my grandma. It's supposed to be from a Polynesian legend, the heart of the Mother Island."</p><p>"That is so cool."</p><p>"I like your... fork," I said, looking at her miniature fork stuck in the base of her bright red ponytail.</p><p>"Thank you! I mean, I know what forks are used for now, but I think it gives a nice little flair!" I giggled.</p><p>We reached our room and opened it with her key. "Welcome to your new home!"     </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL'S POV</p><p>"Girls! Moana is here!" I called through the door.</p><p>"Who the heck is Moana?" a bright voice yelled from inside the room.</p><p>"Our last roommate!"</p><p>"Oh my gosh!" two voices shrieked. Anna and Rapunzel barreled towards us from two different directions. "Hi!" they both said excitedly to Moana.</p><p>"Hi," Moana responded shyly, giving a small wave.</p><p>"I'm Rapunzel-"</p><p>"Woah, you have a lot of hair," she commented, eyes wide. Rapunzel had calf-length golden hair, something that is always a slight difficulty.</p><p>"Yeah," Rapunzel said sheepishly, running her hands through it. "My mom never lets me cut it. But your hair is so curly! I wish I had curly hair, but it takes a really long time to curl..."</p><p>As Anna introduced herself, I took Moana's bags to the beds.</p><p>"Moana, which bed do you want? Anna took one by the window because she likes looking at the stars when she can't sleep, but there's another one by the window if you want," I said.</p><p>"Yeah, I'll have that one! I look at the stars too," she replied. I placed her bags by her bed, putting my own bags on the bed next to that one.</p><p>Once the other three were done talking, I said to Moana, "We're having an orientation in the dining hall in an hour. You can get unpacked and ready and before we can take you on a tour if you want."</p><p>"Sounds good!"</p><p>I left with Anna and Rapunzel to give Moana time to settle in, smiling at her on our way out. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ANYA'S POV</p><p>I stuck my key into the lock of my room, 347, and took a deep breath before opening the door. Inside, two girls lay on beds. One had platinum blonde hair, blue sweats, and a grey top, while the other had elaborately black braided hair with a brown sweater dress. They both looked up as I entered the room.</p><p>"Hi..." I said nervously.</p><p>"Hello!" The blonde haired girl stood up and smiled at me, the other girl following. "I'm Elsa."</p><p>"I am Tiger Lily, but you can call me Tiger," the brown skinned girl said.</p><p>"I'm Anastasia, but you can call me Anya," I answered warmly.</p><p>"I don't think I recognize you?" Elsa said.</p><p>"I'm new. I just transferred from Fox Institute. I'm a sophomore," I explained.</p><p>"That's so cool! I'm a sophomore too, so is Elsie," Tiger told me.</p><p>"You can have the bed by the window, if you want. Tiger and I were just about to go get some coffee, do you want to come?" Elsa said.</p><p>"Yeah, that sounds great!"</p><p>"You can unpack and then we'll leave."</p><p>"Perfect!"</p><p>I unpacked my bag and all three of us left to go to the Black Cauldron Café, the nearest coffee shop on campus.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>VANESSA'S POV</p><p>I walked into my new dorm room and saw Giselle Andalaisa and Snow White sitting on a bed. They looked up and smiled at me. "Oh. Oh no," I said resentfully. "No, I am not having a dorm room with you two. No. Way." Giselle and Snow's faces fell as I slammed the door, going back into the hall. I stormed to the elevators, lugging my numerous bags behind me.</p><p>When I made it to the lobby, I stomped up to the front desk, a scowl on my perfect face. "I need new roommates," I demanded to the old woman.</p><p>"Young lady, I can't-"</p><p>"GIVE ME NEW ROOMMATES!" I yelled at her. She glared at me and was about to reprimand me, but I pulled out a wad of cash. "Look lady, I need Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine to be my roommates, you know them?"</p><p>"They happen to be my daughters-"</p><p>"Great, great. How much do you want?" I held out the money and her eyes glimmered. I slammed some down and said, "I'll be back in 10 minutes, and I better have the right roommates."</p><p>When I returned to the front desk, Tremaine said to me, "You are now room 387 with Anastasia and Drizella." She handed me a key and map again. I humphed and stomped away to my new room. </p><p>JASMINE'S POV</p><p>Pulling up into a parking space into the student parking lot, I felt my heart flutter with excitement. It was my sophomore year at Walt E. Disney High and I was prepared to have one of my most adventurous years yet. Last year, my father, on the other side of the world, was very protective and controlling of me. But this year, he was in Egypt for most of my first semester and India for the second on business trips, leaving his new royal advisor to run our kingdom of Agrabah. He was too busy to monitor me, so I planned to have many adventures and take risks.</p><p>I clambered out of my new black Cadillac Escalade, walking around to the back. I popped the trunk, revealing my plethora of suitcases and bags. I hoisted my purse more securely on my shoulder and then took out the top bag. I placed it on the ground and then took out three more duffel bags. I finally removed my two huge peacock patterned suitcases, dropping them on the road again. I straightened up, sighing as I looked at all of my bags laying on the ground. I had no clue how I was going to carry all of these from the parking lot to my dorm room.</p><p>I went to pick up all four bags, but immediately failed. I put one on each of my shoulders, my back immediately aching. I grumbled. "Hey, you need any help?" I heard an echoey voice call. I looked up and saw Aladdin Ali walking toward me, a nice welcoming look on his face. I didn't know him that well but I did know that he was on the track and field team because my friends Merida, Pocahontas, Kida, and Meg were on it too.</p><p>"Ugh, yes please," I said, staring dismally at my abandoned bags. Aladdin approached me and grabbed the other two bags and my two suitcases.</p><p>"Thank you so much," I said gratefully, looking at him. "I'm sorry." So much for being independent and adventurous this year.</p><p>"Don't apologize. Happy to help. Just going to the dorm building, right?" Aladdin asked.</p><p>"Yeah." We began to walk towards the main doors to the dorm building. "So, are you going to be on track and field again?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm definitely going to try out again. How about you, are you on any sports?" Aladdin replied, grinning at me.</p><p>"I'm trying out for the swim team this year," I told him, smiling back. "I've never been on a sports team, so..."</p><p>"Oh that's cool! You should try out, you'll definitely get on."</p><p>I blushed. "Thanks." We made small talk until we reached the dorm building. "Do you have your room yet?" I asked him as we walked up to the front desk where a line of other sophomores waited.</p><p>"Yeah, I got here about half an hour ago."</p><p>"Okay. Who are your roommates?"</p><p>"Tarzan and Kristoff," he said, raising his eyebrows to make sure I knew who they were. I couldn't picture them perfectly but I knew who they were. I nodded in confirmation.</p><p>When Wendy and Alice, who were in front of us, celebrated at getting a room together and scampered off to it, Aladdin and I moved up. I gave Lady Tremaine my name and she pulled up my room and the dorm rules. I saw my room number, 486 and Aladdin and I went to the elevators. We silently rode them up to the fourth floor. Aladdin rolled my suitcases down to almost the end of the hall. I stuck my key into the lock of my new room and pushed the knob.</p><p>Before opening the door, I turned to Aladdin. "Thank you so much," I said. "I'm really sorry for this."</p><p>"It's no problem, really!" Aladdin replied sincerely. He placed the duffel bags he was carrying on top of the suitcases. "Well. Bye, Jasmine, I guess. See you later?"</p><p>"Yeah," I said, giving him a small smile. "See you later." Aladdin, with his hands shoved in his pockets, strolled back down the hall and disappeared from my sight. I sighed and faced the door again, opening it.</p><p>Inside was one twin bed in the corner and a bunk bed in the other. On the top bunk sat Nala Headley in criss-cross applesauce, lounging on her phone. She looked up at me and smiled.</p><p>"Hi! Jasmine, right? I'm Nala," she said brightly, climbing down the step ladder to the floor. She had beautifully smooth dark skin with black short, almost shaved hair, a crisp line defining the top of her head. She had white dots outlining the top of her eyebrows and wore salmon lounge pants and a white crop bralette top. She also accessorized with gold double earrings and a dainty matching necklace. I really admired her outfit and already knew we'd become close friends.</p><p>"Yeah! Nice to meet you Nala. I love your outfit," I complimented.</p><p>"Thank you! I like yours." I looked down at myself, studying my black jeans and billowing blue crop top.</p><p>"Thank you!"</p><p>I dragged my bags into the room as Nala said, "I took the top bunk, I hope you won't mind."</p><p>"Oh no, that's totally fine. I kind of want this one," I said, motioning to the single twin bed, "but I don't want the other roommate to want this one."</p><p>"You can probably take that one," assured Nala, crawling back up to her bed.</p><p>"Okay." I began to set up my stuff at my bed until another girl came in. She also had dark skin, braids wrapped around in a large bun with a sunflower adorning it. She wore high-waisted light jeans and and yellow top.</p><p>"Hi," she said, walking in with her bags. "I'm Iridessa. Bye, Rose!" she said to the redheaded girl in the doorway.</p><p>"Bye honey! Have fun!" she called as the door closed.</p><p>"I'm Jasmine," I said pleasantly, getting away from my unpacking and going to shake her hand.</p><p>"I'm Nala," Nala said, coming back down from the bunk. "We left you this bed, we hope you don't mind."</p><p>"No, that's perfect. Thank you." Iridessa began to unpack her things too and we spent the rest of the day chilling in our dorm, unpacking and then attending the orientation. </p><p> </p><p>AURORA'S POV</p><p>"Cindy! Snow! What do you think I should wear to orientation?" I called, staring at two outfit options thoughtfully. Both of my friends rushed in.</p><p>"Ooh! That one!" Snow said happily, pointing to the jean skirt with a pink off-the-shoulder top. She smiled at me and bounded away. Cinderella stood next to me, her flowery perfume's scent wafting over to me.</p><p>"Hmmm..." she hummed, her eyes drifting between the two choices. "Yeah, I agree with Snow." She looked at me with her blue eyes and I felt my heart kind of skip. It skipped again once there was a knock on the door.</p><p>"Okay, I'll wear that one," I told Cindy, breaking away from her gaze as I went to open the door. Standing on the other side was my boyfriend, Philip.</p><p>"Hey there, princess," he said, holding a bunch of pink roses. I smiled, and not having seen him in 2 months, gave him a hug and kiss, accepting the flowers with another kiss on the cheek.</p><p>"Hey there, handsome," I replied. He walked into the room and I told him to wait while I changed. He exchanged warm greetings with my friends as I walked into our half-bathroom to throw on the outfit and put my curled blonde hair into a ponytail.</p><p>When I walked out, Henry and Florian were there, Cinderella and Snow White's boyfriends. I gave them each hugs and then all six of us walked to the dining hall.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ANNA'S POV</p><p>Ariel, Punzie, and I came back to our dorm after 45 minutes, picking up Jane and Belle on the way. We had gone to the Black Cauldron Café and Ariel brought Moana back an iced coffee. We introduced her to Belle and Jane and began to take her on the dorm tour. We showed her the showers, floors, the lobby, and we finally began to make our way to the dining hall where the year's orientation was about to start.</p><p>In the lobby, I saw Eric walking in our direction. I got excited, looking over at Ariel with a wide, intense stare. Eric has been Ariel's crush for the past 5 years, but she has never made a move. It really seemed to me that Eric liked her too, but now, of course, he was taken by Vanessa. My friends and I have always been trying to set them up, but it never works.</p><p>As he neared us, he said brightly, "Hi Ariel!"</p><p>I looked over at her expectantly, but she looked frozen. No words came out to reply, and Eric was slowing down, looking worried, so I jumped in. "Hi Eric!"</p><p>He looked over at me, a little less enthusiastic, and said, "Oh, hey Anna! Who's this?" he said, looking at Moana.</p><p>I waited a few moments, trying to urge Ariel to speak to him, but her eyes remained wide and unblinking, nervous. "This is Moana, our new roommate," I told him, putting my hand on her shoulder.</p><p>"Oh, hey Moana. I'm Eric. Well, see you guys down there?" he said kindly, looking at Ariel again with expecting eyes. Ariel moved her mouth, but no sound same out, making her look like a guppy.</p><p>"Sure thing! Later, Eric!" I said happily, all of us moving towards the dining hall again.</p><p>After he was out of sight, Ariel sighed disappointedly. "Ariel!" I whined. "Come on! You have to say something! He was totally looking at you!"</p><p>"I know, I know," she groaned, looking longingly over her shoulder. "It's just whenever I have the chance to talk to him, it's like my voice gets stolen. I don't know what to do!"</p><p>"Wait, I'm confused. Who was that?" Moana said, her eyebrows furrowed, looking up at Ariel.</p><p>"That's Eric Caspian, Ariel's soulmate. But she has spoken like, 2 words to him in the 5 years she's known him," I explained. I thought I saw the cheerfulness in Moana's brown eyes dim a little bit, but I looked away when we entered the dining hall.</p><p>The hall was already swarming with students, a bunch of booths for student-made clubs set up and chairs. I saw Hans, my ex, walking towards me until my friends steered my away from him. But I thought I saw a wistful, sad look in his familiar green eyes.</p><p>But then I saw a flash of white looking hair and immediately got excited. "ELSA!" I shouted, trying to get my older sister's attention among the noise. "ELSA!" Her head turned, and I lead my friends toward her. "Hi, Elsa! Meet our new friend and roommate, Moana!" I motioned to Moana.</p><p>"Hi Moana, I'm Elsa, Anna's sister," Elsa said, giving a wave. "Oh! I have a new roommate too! This is Anya, she just transferred here from Fox Institute." A girl with red hair stepped forward, smiling.</p><p>"Hi!" she said. "Nice to meet you!" We all greeted her until a microphone's speaker screeched, piercing our ears.</p><p>"Children, please take a seat. Orientation will begin momentarily," an old lady's sweet voice said through the speakers. I said goodbye to Elsa and my friends and I made our way to some seats. Moana sat in between me and Ariel, Punzie on my other side.</p><p>My phone pinged in my pocket and I took it out. It read:</p><p>Hey can I talk to you later tonite? I have something to say to you –Hans</p><p>I hesitated before texting back quickly.</p><p>Fine.</p><p>Punz looked over my shoulder. "Who are you texting?"</p><p>"Nobody," I answered briskly, hastily stowing the phone in its pocket as the assistant principal cleared her throat into the microphone.</p><p>"Hello students, new and old, and welcome to Walt E. Disney High! I am your assistant principal, Miss Fairy Godmother. To review the dormitory rules, here is Lady Tremaine."</p><p>Lady Tremaine introduced herself sourly, then began to list off the rules. "No boys on the girls' floors after 8 pm and vice versa –"</p><p>"That's stupid!" I said to Rapunzel, among the other students complaints about the new rules.</p><p>"Everyone must be indoors by 9 pm. Lights out by 11 pm. You may use the showers on your floor, showers must not be longer than 25 minutes. Breakfast is from 6:30 to 7:30 am and dinner is from 7 to 8 pm..." Tremaine droned on with silly rules until Fairy Godmother came back and introduced Principal Mickey who took the stage.</p><p>"Welcome students! To start off this new year..." Mickey went off on a ramble too, until we were all handed our schedules for the next day. "Now, you all may walk around to make new friends and maybe join some new clubs made by our very own students! I will see you all tomorrow for our first day of school!" </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MULAN'S POV</p><p>I stood up and separated from Kida and Pocahontas, who were my roommates, and Merida and Meg to go and man my booth for the LGBTQ+ club I had created last year. I set out the sign-up list and grabbed some flyers to hand out. Some people walked by and took a flyer, one or two signing up.</p><p>Soon, near the end of my shift, I saw Aurora and Cinderella, the some of the two most well-known people in the school, walking towards my rainbow booth.</p><p>"Hi Mulan," Cinderella said with a smile.</p><p>"Hi ladies! Would you like a flyer?" I asked, trying to hide my timidness. Both had a considerable height difference on me.</p><p>"Um, no, actually, we were wanting to sign up," Aurora told me.</p><p>"Oh!" I said, surprised. "Yeah, sure thing! Here's the sign up sheet. We meet up on Wednesdays at lunch in B33."</p><p>The two scribbled their neat cursive onto the sign up sheet and smiled at me. They walked away to join up with their boyfriends and friends.</p><p>After a few minutes, I gave my shift over to Merida. I walked around the hall, skimming the booths, but my eye caught on one. My nerves were rattling around inside me, but I walked up to the booth, currently being run by Gaston.</p><p>"Hi," I said in a slightly high pitched voice, but I cleared my throat and pitched it lower. "Um, I would like to sign up for football team tryouts."</p><p>Gaston looked me up and down. "Sorry, you can't," he told me rudely.</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"Because you're a girl! Girls can't play football!"</p><p>"What? Why not?" I said in a raised voice.</p><p>"Because you're too weak and dainty!"</p><p>I looked up and down my clothes, my ripped black jeans and my leather jacket.</p><p>"Really? Dainty?"</p><p>"Hey, what's going on over here?" Hercules butted in, stepping into the booth.</p><p>"This girl wants to join the football team," Gaston scoffed, folding his huge arms.</p><p>Hercules looked at me, but quickly erased the judgment from his eyes. "Gaston, of course she can sign up to try out. Try outs are open to everyone," he said, nudging Gaston.</p><p>Gaston rolled his eyes, shoved the sheet towards me, and whispered under his breath, "At least you won't get on the team."</p><p>I watched him stomp away and then signed my name, grinning at Hercules. He returned it, and I walked away, feeling confident and nervous at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>ESMERALDA'S POV</p><p>"Bye! See you at trials!" I said to Rapunzel, who was walking away after signing up to try out for the dance team. I scanned the crowd, looking for some more potential dance candidates. Someone on the other side of me cleared her throat. "Hello."</p><p>I whipped around to see another girl, shorter than me and unfamiliar. I tried to process her medium skin and brown curly hair, but I had never seen her before. "Hello. Do I know you?" I asked.</p><p>"Oh, no. I'm new. I'm Moana," she replied.</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Moana. I'm Esmeralda, captain of the dance team. Would you maybe want to try out?" I asked her, looking at her fit physique, perfect for the dance team.</p><p>"Um, yeah. Yes please," Moana responded, looking around at my booth.</p><p>"Great!" I informed her about the trial times and dates and gave her a sign up sheet.</p><p>"Thank you!" Moana said to me with a smile.</p><p>"No problem! See you then!" I watched her walk away, knowing that if she got on, she would be a great addition to the team.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ANNA'S POV</p><p>As I walked up the stairs back to my dorm room alone, my friends having separated from me, I felt my dress pocket buzz. I fished it out and looked at the screen, expecting a text from Rapunzel or someone like that. However, the name on the screen was Hans. I felt my stomach drop as I stared at the text.</p><p>Meet in the garden? Fountain? – Hans</p><p>My breath hitched at the mention of the garden, somewhere we had always gone when we were dating, usually after dates just to talk. My fingers hesitated over the screen until I swiped to reply.</p><p>K</p><p>I sent the text and turned around. I jumped down the stairs and into the lobby. I adjusted my headband. I looked through the glass doors and saw that it was evening. I hoped it wasn't cold, because I was wearing a blue plaid suspender dress over a white blouse. I did, however, have thigh-high red socks to match my headband. I walked outside into the slightly chilly air and crossed my arms for warmth.</p><p>I walked across the front yard into the garden. Lights cast glows on the flowers and I walked down the path towards the center of the garden, where the fountain was. The sprinkling water was shining but no one was there. I sat on the bench that was across from the fountain, crossing my legs too to make myself warmer.</p><p>I waited a couple minutes until I heard some footsteps coming towards me. I looked up. Hans Isles stood there, hands in his pockets, illuminated by the light of the fountain.</p><p>"Hey," he said, his shoulders shrugged.</p><p>"Hi," I replied, standing up.</p><p>"No, no, sit down," he said, coming over to me. I sat and he sat next to me.</p><p>"So," I said quietly, shivering despite the sudden body warmth. I looked at his maroon jacket enviously.</p><p>"So," Hans repeated. "Yeah. Hi. Um... Okay. Anna." He turned his body to face me and I started to get nervous. I turned my head.  "I wanted to say... I am sorry."</p><p>"Excuse me?" I said, taken aback. I stopped shivering for a second as my blood boiled.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Anna. I really am. I know what I did was wrong. And I just wanted to apologize to you. You didn't deserve it, no one does. I'm sorry."</p><p>"Hans," I started, after a moment of silence. I tried to keep from blowing up. "You cheated on me with...what was her name?"</p><p>"Toothiana. From Dreamworks," he told me, biting his lip.</p><p>"Right. You cheated on me with Toothiana. I found out through a text. That's the worst way to find out. And you pretended it didn't happen. I did too, but I shouldn't have. It hurt, Hans. It really freaking hurt. We pretended that things were totally fine for a month. And you were the one who broke up with me! I was supposed to be the one to do that. And you left me in the dust. You hurt me Hans. And you're apologizing now?" I yelled, backing away from him.</p><p>"Anna! Anna," he said, holding out his hands. "I hear you. I am so stupid and awful and I am so so sorry. If I could take it all back, I could. But I can't, so I'm just trying to fix it as best I can. So, from the bottom of my heart, Anna, I apologize."</p><p>I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes, pondering his words. "Okay," I breathed, opening my eyes and looking at him. "Okay. Well. You... You were awful. And the fact that you acknowledge that is good. You shouldn't have done it. At all. Ever. But... But I forgive you."</p><p>Hans's eyes lit up. "Really?" he said, straightening.</p><p>"Yes. Sadly," I muttered.</p><p>"Thank you, Anna. You won't regret this," he said joyously.</p><p>"But! But," I interrupted, holding up my hands as we both stood. "You have to promise me that you will never, ever do this again. To anyone."</p><p>"Of course," Hans said firmly.</p><p>"Pinky promise?" I asked, holding out my finger. He looked at it and I did too. It was something that we did when we were dating, and I almost took away my hand. But Hans linked his pinky with mine and promised. I let go quickly and put my hands in my pockets. "Okay," I said, taking a deep breath.</p><p>"Okay," Hans said finally and awkwardly. "See you around."</p><p>"Yeah. See you around," I repeated, shivering. I turned my back on him and walked back to the lobby. I welcomed the warmth and stopped shivering, making my way to the elevator. I went up to level 4 and began walking down the hall to my room. As I strolled down the hallway, I rethought the conversation I had just had with Hans. I wondered if I shouldn't have forgiven him and if he would keep his pinky promise.</p><p>When we had been dating, I would make him pinky promise me on everything, from making sure he would get me chocolate chips from the store to saying that we would go on a date that night. I stared at my hand until I reached my room, opening the door up with my key.</p><p>"Hey hun, where were you?" Ariel asked, looking up from her book. Rapunzel and Moana looked at me too, inquisitive looks on their faces.</p><p>"I...um... was in the garden," I told them sheepishly, sliding off my black flats and red headband.</p><p>"Oh? Doing what?" Ariel interrogated skeptically, setting her book down and raising her eyebrow. </p><p>"Um... You know...Just thinking," replied, not meeting her eyes.</p><p>Ariel slouched on her arm, saying, "Yeah right. What were you actually doing?"</p><p>The other girls were now paying heavy attention. "Oh, fine," I gave in, sighing and sitting on my bed. "I was with Hans."</p><p>"What!" Rapunzel and Ariel yelled, scaring me and Moana.</p><p>"I know, I know, but I forgave him and it's all good so there's no need to freak out or anything!" I said quickly, shrinking into my shoulders.</p><p>"You forgave him?" Rapunzel repeated, gasping.</p><p>"Yes..." I responded slowly. Ariel facepalmed and Rapunzel closed her eyes, sighing. Moana just looked confused.</p><p>"I can't believe you," Ariel murmured, rubbing her temples.</p><p>"Hey, well, it's said anddone, so..." I said, flopping down on my bed. My two friends chuckled a littletiredly, and we all eventually fell asleep, both excited and nervous to startschool the next day. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hi everyone! Things are starting to warm up here, and next chapter school will start!</p><p>Edit: I added Anna's last pov just now and the next chapter is on the way. Sorry for the wait!</p><p> </p><p>Since it's early in the book, I was wondering which POVs you want to see a lot of! I have lots of ideas, so if you name a character I probably have a dose of drama for them haha.</p><p>Question of the chapter: What is your favorite Disney movie?<br/>
Mine is Peter Pan, I am in love with Neverland and Peter and the idea of never growing up. I love that movie so much!</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>RAPUNZEL'S POV</p><p>I woke up to the sun barely peaking out from behind the horizon. I smiled at it and looked at the clock. It read 5:59 am. We had one minute until the alarm went off. I snuck out of bed and grabbed my pillow. I waited, standing mischievously over Anna's bed until – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! As soon as the phone rang off and Anna began to stir, WHAM! I slammed the pillow onto her face. </p><p>She screeched, her mouth muffled. "Wake up!" I yelled continuously, hitting her with my pillow and waking everybody else up. "First day of school! Come on guys, it's the first day of school! We have to go!"</p><p>Anna threw the pillow off her and looked at me with a playful angry face. I giggled at her huge, tangled afro of red hair and the line of drool down her chin.</p><p>In the bed across from hers, Ariel sat up, yawning and stretching. Moana had put a pillow to her face and was groaning. "Is this the wakeup time every day?" she whined into the pillow.</p><p>"Sadly," Anna replied sleepily. Her hand was supporting her face, her elbow resting on her knee. She began to drift off, so I pushed her. "Ahhh!" She tumbled off the bed, a tangle of blankets and sheets. We all laughed loudly, but then one by one we got out of bed and began to get ready.</p><p>Anna and Ariel headed to the showers, Moana and I staying behind, having showered last night. I took some clothes, namely a white off the shoulder crop top and lilac long skirt, into the bathroom. I never usually wore skirts that often, but the first day of school called for impressive outfits. I heard Moana from the other room ask, "Is there a dress code, Rapunzel?"</p><p>"Not really. There is one, but no one follows it. You can wear whatever you want," I replied, changing.</p><p>"Great. Thank you!" I put on a little makeup and took my hair down from my bun (I wore them at night so that I didn't strangle myself) and made it look presentable. I added a white flower crown.</p><p>Moana and I switched, and while I was packing up my bag Ariel and Anna came back.</p><p>"I am so excited for our first day!" Anna squealed. She was pulling on a matching pink top and skirt set and then putting her hair into a fancy bun while I looked over my schedule again, making sure I knew how to get to each class.</p><p>"Now Anna, don't go around schmoozing every boy you see, take it slow, okay? You just healed and we don't want you getting hurt, okay?" Ariel warned. She had put on a pair of green shorts, a purple crop top, and her hair was curled. Anna rolled her eyes.</p><p>Once we were all finished, we went down to the dining hall for breakfast. I took two muffins and some apple juice, rejoining my friends at the table. Belle and Jane had joined us. "So, I think I'm going to ask Tarzan out today," Jane announced to us excitedly.</p><p>We responded supportively, congratulating her. All of a sudden, someone in an all pink outfit plopped down next to me. I looked over and saw Charlotte La Bouff.</p><p>"Hey ladies!" she greeted cheerily. She gave me a loud kiss on the cheek but then wiped off the pink lipstick for me. She blew everyone else kisses. "So, any juicy summer details?" she asked.</p><p>"We got a puppy! I named him Olaf," Anna responded joyfully. We all cooed while she showed us pictures of the white dog.</p><p>"Any summer romance?" Lottie asked, digging into her pancakes.</p><p>We all made murmured responses of no, until Jane chimed, "Well I'm going to ask Tarzan out today!"</p><p>I thought I saw Charlotte's bright eyes and smile falter, but they returned after she said, "That's great, sugar! I'm happy for you!" We all gossiped and ate until about 7:30, and we all left the dorm building to start our first day of school.</p><p> </p><p>ANNA'S POV</p><p>I walked to my locker, having separated from my friends. I opened it after completing the combination and gathered my needed books and backpacks. I walked to my homeroom and sat down in an empty seat, Merida next to me. "Hi Anna!" she greeted lightly. "How was your summer?"</p><p>"Good! How was yours?"</p><p>"Good. I got a new bow and arrows, so I shot a lot with those."</p><p>"That's cool." We continued to make small talk until someone sat next to me. I turned around.</p><p>"Hey, Anna," he said. I recognized Kristoff from last year, but we had only talked a couple of times. Actually, we had done a science project together, but I had been dating Hans at the time. Right now, he wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, but he was way cuter than I remembered.</p><p>"Hey Kristoff!" I replied, trying to sound cool.</p><p>"How are you?" he asked kindly.</p><p>"Great! I got a puppy! Want to see?" He began to say yes, but Dr. Frollo entered the room with a scowl on his face, so I put away my phone. "I can show you later," I whispered across to Kristoff. He grinned at me. Frollo began to rattle off the rules, but I couldn't help but sneak glances at Kristoff. </p><p> </p><p>After english and history, I had my elective, drama. As I made my way to the stage, Kristoff appeared next to me. "Hey," he said, slinging his bag further over his shoulder.</p><p>"Hi!" I replied happily, taken by surprise and smiling widely. Elsa's warnings were completely pushed from my mind. "Oh! Can I show you my dog?" I asked, referring to meaning to show him my new puppy in homeroom.</p><p>"Yes, of course!"I pulled out my phone and excitedly tapped to my photos, choosing a couple of the dozens of pictures I had of my snow-colored dog. "Look at him! I named him Olaf." I showed him multiple pictures enthusiastically.</p><p>"Very cool and cute," he said, chuckling. "I have a dog too. Do you want to see?"</p><p>"Yes!" I said shrilly, shaking my fists in excitement. Kristoff laughed and took out his phone as well, simply turning it on. On his home screen was an large adorable Australian Shepard.</p><p>"His name is Sven. He's almost as old as me," Kristoff informed me.</p><p>"Awww!" I cooed. "Are you going to drama too?" I asked as we neared the theater.</p><p>"Yeah." We walked into the room together, sitting in random seats in the the audience as everyone else was doing. Chatter filled the room, as well as laughing and others warming up their voices. As Kristoff and I sat awkwardly, I noticed Hans walk in through the door, looking around. He caught my eye and gave me a sheepish wave, which I returned, not meeting his eyes. </p><p>"Who's that?" Kristoff asked suspiciously and suddenly.</p><p>"Oh, him? That's, um, Hans. He's my, uh... ex. I guess. But we're cool now," I told him uncomfortably, shifting in my chair and staring at my knees.</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"Anna!" someone called from the door once Hans moved to take a seat by himself. I looked up. Moana stood in the doorway, waving frantically. I waved for her to join me, and she quickly came over. "Hi, Anna," she said smiling and uneasily standing in the row, next to Kristoff.</p><p>"Hi! Oh, this is Kristoff. Kristoff, this is Moana. She's my friend and roommate. She's new," I introduced.</p><p>"Hi," Moana said, giving him a feeble wave.</p><p>"Hey," he responded.</p><p>"Sit!" I said to Moana, patting the seat next to me. She climbed across Kristoff and I and plopped down in the chair.</p><p>"Who's the teacher for this class again?" she inquired quietly to me.</p><p>"Scar," I told her. "He can be quite dramatic, though, but I suppose that's quite fitting."</p><p>As if right on cue, Mr. Scar glided to the center of the stage. A spotlight abruptly beamed upon him as he stuck a dramatic pose, one hand clutching his heart and the other on his forehead. He paused for a couple moments, and a hush fell over the students, the audience.</p><p>"To be, or not to be--that is the question," he began, taking up another dramatic posture. I sighed. Last year he had began like this also, and apparently, from what I had heard, it happened every single year. <br/>"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer<br/>The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune<br/>Or to take arms against a sea of troubles<br/>And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--<br/>No more--and by a sleep to say we end<br/>The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks<br/>That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation<br/>Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--<br/>To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,<br/>For in that sleep of death what dreams may come<br/>When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,<br/>Must give us pause. There's the respect<br/>That makes calamity of so long life.<br/>For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,<br/>Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely<br/>The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,<br/>The insolence of office, and the spurns<br/>That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,<br/>When he himself might his quietus make<br/>With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,<br/>To grunt and sweat under a weary life,<br/>But that the dread of something after death,<br/>The undiscovered country, from whose bourn<br/>No traveller returns, puzzles the will,<br/>And makes us rather bear those ills we have<br/>Than fly to others that we know not of?<br/>Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,<br/>And thus the native hue of resolution<br/>Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,<br/>And enterprise of great pitch and moment<br/>With this regard their currents turn awry<br/>And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,<br/>The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons<br/>Be all my sins remembered."</p><p>He ended with another heavy pause, a silence filling the room, until the spotlight switched off and the regular lights turned on. Someone started a slow applause, and soon everyone else joined in. Scar took a single sweeping bow, surveying the seats.</p><p>"Wow, " Moana stated, whispering to me, slightly bewildered.</p><p>"Yep," I said. "That's Mr. Scar. And yes, he's always like this."</p><p>"I have just demonstrated the most effective way to deliver a monologue. We will be studying Shakespeare and plays of the sort in the second semester. The fall semester, however, will be focusing on musical theatre. We will be having a fall musical, and I expect all of you to audition. The musical itself will be announced tomorrow. For today, I will be going over protocol and rules, and we will spend the rest of the period doing improv games. I will now take roll." Scar went to call out the names in the class and then went through rules and guidelines of the classroom.</p><p>Afterward, we all went on the stage and gathered in a circle, me being in between Moana and Kristoff again. "All right, class, today we're just going to start with a simple 2 Truths and a Lie game. It is to work on your facial expression and make sure you don't give anything away, as well as reading others' expressions. Also, it will help us learn more about each other, because if we are not harmonious in class we will certainly not be harmonious on stage. For example, if I were to go first, I would say, 'Hello, I am Mr. Scar Taka, and I have an acting degree from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, I killed my brother, and I have been teaching here for 8 years.' Which is the lie?"</p><p>We all gaped at him until Anastasia Tremaine cautiously raised her hand. "That you killed your brother?"</p><p>"No, I have been teaching for 7 years," Scar answered dully. We all gasped until he said, "Of course I didn't kill my brother!"</p><p>All together, we let out a breath. "Now, who's next?" he asked.</p><p>"I'll go," someone said. We all looked, and I recognized Anya, Elsa's new friend and roommate. She went on to give us 2 truths and a lie, which I guessed correctly. We went around the whole circle, learning things about each other along the way. I could tell that Scar was getting bored, admiring his black nails towards the end.</p><p>"All right!" he cut in right as the last person, Dmitri, finished up his 3 facts. "I wanted to do an actual improve game, but we obviously don't have enough time left." I glanced at the clock, noticing that we only had 4 minutes left in the period. "Go get your stuff," Scar commanded. We all bounded off the stage to our original seats and I grabbed my purse along with Moana and Kristoff. I was looking forward to lunch, which was next, and my stomach was growling.</p><p>"I'll show you where we sit, Moana," I assured. "Do you want to eat with us, Kristoff?" I invited.</p><p>"Oh, I'd love to, but I promised my friend that I'd sit with him," Kristoff explained apologetically.</p><p>"Oh," I answered, crestfallen. "Okay. Well. See you later?"</p><p>"Yes! Sure thing!" he said cheerfully, waving goodbye as he ran off. Moana and I walked down to the cafeteria and I spent the rest of lunch with my friends. </p><p> </p><p>ELSA'S POV</p><p>I woke up to my bird chirping alarm at 5:30 am. I groggily opened my eyes, stretching and trying not to make a sound as to not wake up Anya and Tiger Lily, who were both sleeping soundly. I forced myself to fold off my covers and place my feet in fuzzy socks, in which I padded off to the showers.</p><p>Quickly washing myself off, I made sure not to get my hair wet in its bun even though it was a bit dirty. I stepped out of the shower, drying off and taking my platinum blonde hair out of the bun. I took it into another messy but elegant bun and went back to my room to continue getting ready.</p><p>When I returned, Tiger Lily was up and about, putting on turquoise leggings with a white top and black boots. I said good morning to her, stepping into the bathroom to complete my makeup. After trading places with Tiger once I was done, I slipped on my white dress with blue trim and blue cardigan. I put on my blue flats and took a white purse, making sure all of my supplies that I had packed were in there.</p><p>"See you, Tiger!" I whispered as I quietly walked out of the room. It was about 6:30, and, as always, I was going down to the Black Cauldron to have my morning wakeup hot chocolate and get some time to read. As I walked to the lobby and outside the building, I was met with the brisk morning air. I pulled my cardigan tighter around me as I walked swiftly to the coffee shop which was thankfully only several meters away.</p><p>I pulled the door open, the warmer air welcoming me. I walked up to the counter, noticing that the whole cafe was empty except for me and the two other workers, whom I knew. Meg, behind the counter, leaning on it and scrolling through her phone, looked up and grinned when she saw me. I smiled back and went up to the register where Phil stood grumpily. "Hey, sweetheart," he greeted. We were on good terms because I come the the cafe almost every day, and Phil knew my regular order.</p><p>"Hi Phil," I responded.</p><p>"The usual?" he asked, looking up at me since he is half my height.</p><p>"Yes, please. Put it on my account," I confirmed, smiling at him.</p><p>"All right, hun. One large hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles." I nodded and walked to my normal seat, a pillow and blanket covered couch by a window.</p><p>In a few moments, Meg brought over my favorite large blue mug of hot chocolate as well as her own mug of black coffee. "Thank you," I said as she handed it to me. I gratefully wrapped my freezing hands around the hot mug. Meg looked back at Phil who was cleaning off a latte machine. She sat down on the bean bag across from me and placed her elbows on her knees, taking a sip of coffee.</p><p>"Hey," she said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear after swallowing.</p><p>"Hey, Meg," I said back, smiling as I took a small taste of whipped cream and sprinkles.</p><p>"How are you? How was your summer?" she inquired.</p><p>"Pretty good. Anna got a dog. I saw Jack only a few times, but I get to see him today. He missed orientation yesterday because he was late to the dorms," I said, rolling my eyes and fondly recalling my boyfriend's fanfic texts. "And I got Tiger as a roommate, which is good." Meg nodded. "Oh, and there's a new girl, Anya, who's my roommate, too. You would absolutely love her, she's exactly like you."</p><p>"Well, you'll have to introduce me."</p><p>"I will. How was your summer?"</p><p>"Boring, as usual," Meg replied flatly, blowing the piece of hair that had returned out of her face. "My dad practically kept me on house arrest the entire three months. I told him that we actually had to get to the dorms a couple of days earlier than we actually had to, and I just crashed at Jasmine's place. Lord knows she has enough rooms. I got lost in that mansion almost every day."</p><p>I chuckled, shaking my head and knowing that Jasmine was remarkably wealthy. She always casually mentioned her in-home theater and elevator, and I think I heard something about an indoor pool. "Have you been okay with your dad? Everything's okay, right?" I questioned.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah. He's just, um, a bit controlling," Meg admitted reluctantly, putting her hair behind her ear once again.</p><p>"Yeah..." I said, trailing off and looking at her, concerned. Meg was adopted and she always seemed to have hidden troubles with her single father, but she never brought it up and I was becoming more and more worried about her. Meg took another small sip of her steaming coffee in the silence, and I took a drink of my delicious hot chocolate. I gladly licked the whipped cream from my upper lip, wiping it off my nose with my finger. "Anyway. What classes do you have this year?"</p><p>Meg listed off all her classes, not in order though, so I didn't know if we shared any periods. I learned that as an elective she was taking creative writing/journaling and that for her PE period she was going to be track and field. I recited my classes to her, revealing that I was taking study hall for my elective for the fear of falling behind in work. Meg and I chatted for a little while longer until she took her empty coffee mug from the table, and said, "Well, I'll leave you to your thinking. Besides, it's about to get busier." Right as she announced that, Milo Thatch drowsily walked through the door, the bell tinkling.</p><p>"Sweet cheeks, get over here. Stop your chit-chatting and actually work. It's what I'm paying you to do, right?" Phil ordered angrily from behind the counter, going to take Milo's order.</p><p>"Bye," Megara said to me, rolling her eyes at the mini man. She stalked back to her station and began making Milo's coffee. By the looks of it, he desperately needed it. I snickered to myself at Meg's drained face as she routinely made the coffee and went on to finish my drink. I looked at my watch, concluding that the shop's rush hour was about to begin, soon being filled with already exhausted zombies of students, dragging their feet to get their daily dose of caffeine. I watched them all file in, ordering their custom purchases and looking relived when sipping it. They all went out of the cafe again, probably to go get breakfast from the dining hall.</p><p>I decided to follow suit, bidding goodbye to a now-flustered Phil and Meg. I trekked back to the dorm building, taking note that it wasn't as cold as before. I walked back into the construction, making my way to follow the throng of students to the food. Once I arrived, I put a Danish pastry on a napkin and went to sit with my friends, Anya, Jasmine, Kida, Pocahontas, Mulan, Merida, Tiger, Nani Pelekai, Judy Hopps, Nala Headley, and Esmeralda. The only person missing from our gang was Meg, who was still working at the Black Cauldron. The talking was loud in the area we were in because there was so many of us, but I managed to speak to Anya through the noise. I ate quickly once Kida pointed out that we had about 10 minutes.</p><p>I rushed off to school with Anya, who shared a homeroom with me. We each visited our lockers and I led her to the classroom, and our first day of school began. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I was sitting in Mr. Skellington's homeroom, chatting with Anya. "I don't know, he's kinda annoying but he's super cute," she was muttering, glancing over at Dmitri. I smirked at her when a pair of arms wrapped would me from behind. "Hey, baby girl," someone said in my ear. I turned around to be met by my boyfriend, Jack Frost.</p><p>"Jack!" I cried happily, hugging him. I buried my cheek in his familiar blue sweatshirt, breathing in his comforting scent. "How are you?"</p><p>"I'm okay, but I'm better now that I'm with you. How about you?"</p><p>"Same," I smiled. I then introduced him to Anya and the two hit it off right away.</p><p>We continued to talk amongst each other until the bell rang. We walked out of the classroom holding hands until we separated when he had to go to his locker. He gave me a quick kiss on the temple before disappearing. I smiled and turned around as soon as I recognized my sister's enthusiastic voice.</p><p>She was chattering merrily with a tall blond boy, shoulder to shoulder with him. My stomach dropped as I stormed over to her. "Anna! What do you think you are doing?" I demanded, referring to the guy.</p><p>"Um, I'll catch you later, Anna," he murmured awkwardly, backing away.</p><p>"Okay! Bye, Kristoff!" She waved, smiling brightly. "Elsa, what's up?"</p><p>"What's up? Why were you talking to him?" I questioned.</p><p>"What? He's just a friend!" Anna explained, confused.</p><p>"Oh really? Well, you'll probably start dating him by the end of the week. You just got over a heartbreak. I can't have you getting hurt again," I told her firmly.</p><p>"Els-"</p><p>"No more talking to boys for a while, okay? Only talk to me and your close friends." I ordered, crossing my arms. She flinched, a hurt expression on her face.</p><p>"You can't tell me-"</p><p>"Do you understand?" I interrupted.</p><p>"Whatever," she muttered, pushing past me. I sighed as I watched her stamp away.</p><p>"Yeesh," someone said. "Maybe that was a little too harsh, don't you think?" I turned and there was Hans Isles, stepping out from the shadows.</p><p>"Go away, Isles," I told him bitterly, beginning to walk to class. He walked next to me.</p><p>"I...I just wanted to say... that I'm sorry," he said sincerely.</p><p>"What for?" I challenged, looking straight ahead.</p><p>"For doing what I did to Anna."</p><p>"You should be telling her, not me."</p><p>"I did. I called her last night and... well, she forgave me."</p><p>"What? She shouldn't have!" I spat.</p><p>"But why?" he inquired.</p><p>"Because you hurt her!" I said forcefully, starting to raise my voice. "You cheated on her!"</p><p>"It seems that you just hurt her too," he pointed out humbly. I stopped walking and so did he. I turned to face him, opening my mouth and about to respond sharply, but thought and closed it. I remained silent, replaying Anna's upset face through my mind.</p><p>"I have to go," I mumbled, hurrying away.</p><p>I walked a while down the hall until – "Was he bothering you?" Jack asked, appearing at my side.</p><p>I jumped. Relaxing, I realized who it was. "No...no, it's okay, Jack," I reassured him quietly, still lost in thought.</p><p>"Okay. You know that if anyone bothers you, you just tell me, okay?" he said, brushing a piece of hair from my eyes.</p><p>I nodded absently until he ran off to his P.E. class and I entered my history room. "Sit down, sit down," Mr. Fredricksen ordered in his grumpy old-man voice, waving his cane around. I hurriedly chose a random empty seat, relieving my shoulder from the weight of my bag. I prayed we wouldn't need our history books since it was the first day because I had left it in my locker.</p><p>"Elsa," I heard a voice call from the door of the classroom. I looked up and saw Meg walking towards me. I smiled warmly, making sure that nobody took the seat next to me. She soon occupied it, dropping her stuff on the floor. "You didn't bring your textbook, right?"</p><p>"No. Did you?" I asked, concerned.</p><p>"Oh, good. Me neither," she replied, her shoulders relieving their tension. </p><p> </p><p>WENDY'S POV</p><p>"Hey, Darling," Peter said as he sat down next to me in science class.</p><p>"Peter!" I cried, hugging him fiercely. I hadn't seen him all summer. The bell rang and right afterward, Tinkerbell, one of my roommates walked in. Alice, my other roommate and best friend, glanced at me and then the last empty seat behind me and Peter. Tink looked sourly at me and Peter before she walked in between us, breaking our conversation. I sighed. She was normally pretty nice, but when it came to Peter and I together, she was the envy monster. I sort of felt bad for her, however, because Peter had broken up with her last year to be with me.</p><p>Despite sitting directly behind us, Tink's cloudy mood immediately brightened as soon as she realized her best friend Kuzco was sitting two seats away from her.</p><p>"Morning, class," Ursula addressed exasperatedly, sleepily lumbering in through the door. As she assembled her files and documents on her desk, she sighed. "In a month, on October 3rd, a science group project will be due. You will work with two other assigned people each and will give a presentation. I will assign groups now." I looked around nervously and excitedly, hoping that I would get in a group with Peter or Alice.</p><p>"Atlantica, Sea, Motunui. Maldonia, Orleans, Hades." Ariel, Vanessa, and Moana got together, Ariel and Vanessa doing so quite reluctantly. Naveen, Tiana, and Megara got together. "Corona, Rider, Frollo. Tremaine, Rose, White." I waited patiently for my name to be called as Rapunzel, Flynn, and Quasimodo, Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow got together. "Darling-" I felt my cheeks flush. "Pan-"</p><p>"Yes!" I yelped quietly, high fiving Peter.</p><p>"And Hollow," Ursula finished. My face fell and Tinkerbell looked crabbily over at us. I sighed, shooting a look at Peter and Alice. This was going to be a long month.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello my friends! Welcome to chapter 3! First day of school, very exciting! And nerve-wracking, for some. Chapters and POVs are going to start getting longer as things start spicing up here. Again, keep requesting character POVs so I can get more ideas flowing and give you guys more drama and more chapters! Yay!</p><p>Question of the chapter: What is your least favorite Disney movie? Why?</p><p>My least favorite Disney movie is... oh, no, it's too hard to choose! I love all of them. I'd probably have to say Chicken Little, though. Yeah. I don't like Chicken Little. I mean, sure, I've only seen it once, but I don't like it. I'm not sure why. Oh, and Song of the South because, obviously. It's very racist and they wanted it erased afterwards. But I love Splash Mountain haha!</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TINKERBELL'S POV</p><p>"Tink! Oh thank god, I need to talk to you," Kuzco wheezed, running up to me as I left the dessert section of the cafeteria. He pulled me to an empty table, which would fill up after a few minutes of lunch period passed.</p><p>"What's up?" I said, sitting down.</p><p>"My roommates," he answered quietly, eyes darting around.</p><p>"Who are they? Are they super annoying? Are they rude?" I questioned after taking a sip of iced tea.</p><p>"No, they're not annoying...yet. The problem is that they're super hot," Kuzco confessed, slowly stealing an apple slice from my tray.</p><p>"Really? Who?" I prodded, eager for gossip.</p><p>"Adam and... Hercules," he revealed, his eyes wide. I gasped. Kuzco had had a crush on Hercules for over a year now, but from what research we had done, the football captain was as straight as a ruler. Kuzco was the complete opposite.</p><p>"Oh my god! Hercules? Wonderboy himself?" I squawked, flapping my hands.</p><p>"I know! I don't know what to do! How am I supposed to spend a whole year in one room with the hottest guy in the school? He wouldn't even turn for Zac Efron!" he cried, a desperate look on his face. I took a forkful of my pasta as my best friend took a distressed bite of the apple. "This year is going to be torture," Kuzco groaned, putting his head in his arms.</p><p>I couldn't think of any comforting things to say, so instead I told him, "Yes. Yes it is."</p><p>"Oh, wow, thanks for the encouraging words," said Kuzco flatly, looking up at me with dead eyes. I laughed.</p><p>"Anytime." I chuckled as he plopped his head back down.</p><p>"Hey kids," Lottie said, sliding into the seat next to me with a fruit salad.</p><p>"Hey, Lots," I responded, taking a big bite of spaghetti.</p><p>"What's up, buttercup?" she asked to a miserable looking Kuzco.</p><p>"I'm having a crisis," he whined to her, playing with his veggie burger.</p><p>"Wonderboy is his roommate," I explained to Lottie.</p><p>"Oh, boy," she said knowingly, pretending to fan herself. "That's awful, sugar."</p><p>"I know," Kuzco wailed. I happened to look up from my meal when Hercules walked into the cafeteria, surrounded by his football friends.</p><p>I slapped Kuzco's arm to warn him, and as the group passed by I forced a laugh out, pretending Kuzco had told a hilarious joke. Lottie joined in until they were out of earshot. Kuzco stared wistfully after him.</p><p>"Charlotte!" a voice shrieked from across the cafeteria. All three of us snapped our heads up and saw Vanessa Sea, flanked by Drizella and Anastasia Tremaine and Marie O'Malley who was waving Lottie over. Our friend turned towards us, giving an exasperated sigh and rolling her eyes.</p><p>"I'll have to talk to you guys later," she said agitatedly, picking up her tray.</p><p>"Good luck," we wished her, watching as she went over to join Vanessa. Lottie absolutely hated those four, but for the good of basically the whole school, she acted as a spy and told people (mostly Tiana, her best friend) Vanessa's evil plans against people so they could be avoided. Lottie was basically a secret spy agent, and everybody knew it except for Vanessa herself.</p><p>"Tink," Kuzco said, taking a bite of veggie burger. "If neither of us is married by the time we are 40, can we get married please?"</p><p>I giggled. "I hope I'm married by the time I'm 40." I stared wistfully at Peter Pan who was getting peanut butter wiped off his nose by Wendy. I sighed to myself, looking sadly back at my pasta.</p><p>"You never know," Kuzco was saying, oblivious to my sudden sorrow. "The way things are going right now I'm going to end up being an old cat lady."</p><p>I laughed at him and he cracked a small smile. "Yes, we can get married. But I will probably be married by then, so I'll just help you take care of your cats." Kuzco playfully pushed me and we finished our meals as I glanced at Peter another time. </p><p> </p><p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>"Come on, Moana! Bye girls!" Rapunzel said at lunch time, taking my hand and leading me to the dance room. We were both auditioning for the team today. We got inside, with about 20 girls warming up already.</p><p>"Hey girls. We're just doing a quick, 5 minute warm up and then you'll learn a combo. I am choosing about 8 girls, and it doesn't matter whether you're new or old to the team. Got it?" Terpsichore, the muse of dance, said clearly as she walked up to us. She had black short kinky hair and wore a white crop top, a bright blue sports bra visible through the arm holes. She also wore white sneakers and headband with blue athletic shorts. Rapunzel and I nodded. We spread out and did some stretching and warming up before Esmeralda, who was the dance captain called everyone into the center of the room.</p><p>"All right everyone! This is a short combination with mostly all styles of dance in it so I can see how good you really are. It has hip hop, ballet, jazz and contemporary. I'll also just go around the room after showing a quick tap combo just to see what you can do in that area. So spread out and let's start!" Terpsichore announced.</p><p>We began with a short warm up to make sure we didn't hurt any muscles while dancing, consisting of ab work, leg work, and some push ups and jumps.</p><p>We then learned a combination to Womanizer by Britney Spears and split up into groups, me going in the first and Rapunzel in the second.</p><p>The short dance began by facing the back wall. We had the choice to begin the first four 8 counts with our own improv movements. We then whipped around and began sassily walking forward, hitting poses and whipping our hair. I hit the poses with so much force that I was pretty sure I popped a hip or elbow or something, and the hair whips were so wild I couldn't see straight after them. But I tried my hardest, putting all of my energy and the personality of the song into the dance. I felt amazing, free almost as I swung my hips. In the middle, we did a couple fouettés and I unexpectedly ended with a triple pirouette. "Yes!" I heard Rapunzel holler from the back of the room after the turn as I went on with the dance. I smirked, keeping in character as I pushed on, sweat already starting to fall.</p><p>Once I finished, out of breath, I walked to the back of the room passing by Punzie. "That was amazing!" she told me happily. "You killed it!"</p><p>"Thanks! Good luck!" I said, flashing a smile at her. The second group danced and I congratulated Rapunzel on her performance. I tried to study Esmeralda and Terpsichore to see who she liked and did not, but Esmeralda kept a pretty deadpan face. The muse, however, simply smiled brightly at everyone.</p><p>"Well done, everybody. Results will be outside the dance room tomorrow at 12 o'clock. There will be an understudy list, so if you don't quite make it but someone drops, you're on. Good luck!" Terpsichore called once they had evaluated us. Esmeralda was talking to Kida, her friend.</p><p>We all exited the room, chatting about the try out.</p><p>"I don't know if I'm going to get in," Rapunzel said uncertainly, watching the dancers around us. "There are a lot of good dancers..."</p><p>"Punz, you did great! When you dance you look so free and happy," I told her sincerely.</p><p>"Thanks," she said. "You did great too." I smiled and we approached Ariel, Anna, Belle, and Jane.</p><p>"Hey! How was it?" Ariel asked brightly, her blue eyes shining.</p><p>I looked at her, my smile growing and answered, "I think it went really well."</p><p>"Great! I got you guys some fruit, is that okay?" she said, giving us bowls of fruit salad.</p><p>"Yes! Thanks, Ari!" Rapunzel said hungrily, opening the container and diving in.</p><p>"Thanks, Ariel," I said, laughing at Punzie's enthusiasm.</p><p>"Of course!" After a few minutes, the bell rang and we headed towards the last two classes of the day.</p><p>I walked to German with Rapunzel, taking a seat in Mr. Frollo's classroom. We again went through rules and the syllabus. I inferred that Mr. Frollo would be a really tough and strict teacher and was beginning to regret not taking Spanish until Punzie informed me that Frollo taught all the languages.</p><p>I met Jane outside of the language classroom because she was going to show me to our history classroom. We walked in, Jane taking me to two empty seats next to each other. Mr. Fredricksen, who Jane had told me was a very grumpy old man, was sitting at his desk and roughly shuffling papers.</p><p>"Listen up, class," Mr. Fredricksen said gruffly, walking to the front of the room with his cane. He began to go through the rules and the syllabus for the year, which seemed very strict.</p><p>At the end of class,  Ariel met me outside and said to me, "Want to go to the mall after school with the others? You can help me pick out some cute sunglasses like I said!" Jane had gone to talk to Giselle, and then bid goodbye to us. </p><p>"Yeah, that sounds fun!" I responded. "Can we go to our dorm before, though? Also, I will need enough time for homework."</p><p>"Yes, of course. I have homework too. But, like, seriously? Why do we have homework on the first day of school?" she complained.</p><p>"I know," I agreed. "But I don't have too much." The bell rang, and my first day of my new school finally ended. Ariel and I walked out of the school building, chatting about how we liked our classes.</p><p>"I'm glad we're in a science project together," I commented while we were on the topic of science class.</p><p>"Yes! But the bad part is that we're with Vanessa," Ariel replied, a look of disgust on her face.</p><p>"What's wrong with her again?" I asked, trying to remember what Anna had said about Vanessa yesterday.</p><p>"She's dating Eric right now," Ariel sighed. "And she's super mean and rude. I'm pretty sure it's her life mission to make everyone's high school experience even worse and more miserable than it already is."</p><p>"Right," I said. Ariel called Belle, Jane, Rapunzel, and Anna while we were on our way to our dorm. When Anna answered, she asked if Elsa could come along, which Ariel agreed to. Anna called back again and informed us that Anya and Tiger Lily were coming too.</p><p>Ariel and I rode the elevator to our floor, Ariel opening the door for us. When we walked in, Anna, Elsa, Tiger, and Anya were already the room. I placed my backpack on my bed where Elsa was sitting. I sat next to Elsa as we waited for Punzie, Jane, and Belle to arrive. </p><p>"So, Moana, where do you come from?" Elsa asked me, turning to face me while the others made conversation.</p><p>"I'm from an island of Polynesia. It's very secluded, only my people occupy it," I explained. "I just got accepted into this school this year."</p><p>"Oh, that's cool! Anna and I come from Norway, but we have spent a lot of our time here."</p><p>"Yeah, I think it's really interesting how everyone comes from a lot of different places."</p><p>"I know! And I love hearing about the different magical powers everyone has outside of campus. I have ice powers and so does my boyfriend, Jack," Elsa informed. </p><p>"That is so amazing! I can kind of make the sea work in my favor. It does things for me and so called 'chose me' for a certain mission, but that's a whole other thing," I explained to her. "Who else has powers?" </p><p>"Well, I know Rapunzel's hair has healing powers. Peter Pan can fly and obviously, so can all the fairies. They also have their talents, like Silvermist has water. Hercules has super human strength. Violet Parr can disappear. Ariel was a mermaid-" Elsa rattled off. </p><p>"What?" I interrupted loudly. I looked over at the red haired girl who was elaborately acting out something with Anna. </p><p>"Yeah. I'm not sure if she can still change back, though," Elsa said, glancing at her too. </p><p>"That's still amazing. I can't believe I didn't know that!" I explained. Elsa laughed.  </p><p>"Have you gone to the Black Cauldron yet?" Elsa asked, switching the subject.</p><p>"I haven't been, but yesterday Anna and everybody brought be an iced coffee from there."</p><p>"Oh, you have to go. It's my favorite place ever. I go every morning before school."</p><p>"Yes, I love coffee. The one I had was really good."</p><p>"We should go! Before we go to the mall!" Elsa exclaimed, looking excited. She turned to the rest of the girls. "Can we go to the Black Cauldron before the mall?"</p><p>"Yes, please, I need my coffee," Tiger sighed, Anya and Ariel agreeing.</p><p>Punzie arrived almost moments later, joined by Jane and Belle and also Marian, who politely declined our invitation to come along, saying that she had too much homework.</p><p>Once we were all ready to go, all nine of us, me, Elsa, Anna, Ariel, Rapunzel, Anya, Tiger, Belle, and Jane, walked down to the Black Cauldron. We all got to-go orders. Ariel, Elsa, Anya, Belle, Tiger (who got soy milk), and I got large iced coffees while Anna, Rapunzel, and Jane got lemonades.</p><p>Armed with our drinks, we all walked to the Mall of Disney, conversing with each other over multiple topics. We reached the main doors, welcoming the air conditioning as opposed to the warm air outside. Flanked by eight other high school girls, I felt a little cliche and overwhelmed, but also comfortable to be surrounded by people I had become friends with so quickly.</p><p>We first stopped at Magic Carpet Makeup because Ariel, Tiger, and Elsa claimed to need new various makeup products for the new school year. I wasn't a huge fan of makeup, so I only held back and casually browsed the brush collections. While Anya, Elsa, Anna, Belle, Jane, and Rapunzel went to a jewelry store called Seven Dwarves Inc., the rest of us visited to a swimsuit store across the way. </p><p>After we met up again, Anna and Punzie were complaining about being hungry. We traveled to the food court, only a couple people getting snacks. I held back, counting my large iced coffee as a snack. As we sat at two large tables and plenty of chairs put together, Ariel, who was sitting next to me (very closely I might add), said, "Moana, we need to get some sunglasses!"</p><p>"Yeah, okay!" I giggled, kind of blushing at her smile. "Do you know any places?"</p><p>"Well, there's SunglassHut and I think there are sunglasses in Forever21. And just wherever we can find, I guess."</p><p>"All right. I have no idea where those are," I said, laughing.</p><p>"Yeah, I'll show you," Ariel assured me. The others threw their trash away and I threw away my now-empty coffee cup. All the girls discussed where they wanted to go, and we all decided that we'd go our separate ways to get our items. Ariel, Punz, and I were going to go sunglasses shopping.</p><p>Ariel first led us to Forever21, where I helped Rapunzel choose and purchase some purple hippie sunglasses. Then, Ariel not finding anything that fit her style, we went to the SunglassHut.</p><p>"What about these?" Ariel asked me, putting on a pair of Ray-Bans that were slightly square shaped with a white frame, the lenses purple and blue.</p><p>"Those are cute. How much are those?"  I said. </p><p>Ariel took off the sunglasses and checked the price tag. "Ohhh... no. Nope. $218. No." She hastily put the sunglasses back on their stand, backing away from them. I laughed along with Punzie. "I like the color though."</p><p>"What about aviators? How about these?" I suggested, taking another pair with the same colors and handing them to her. She slid them on and looked in the mirror.</p><p>"Oh, I love these so much!" she exclaimed, looking at her face at different angles and tucking her hair behind her ear. I gazed at her until I felt like Rapunzel was watching me, so I tore my eyes from the redheaded girl, fidgeting uncomfortably. She took them off, looking at the price tag. "Nooooooo!" she cried dramatically, looking away.</p><p>"What? How much?" Punz asked inquisitively.</p><p>"$299," Ariel answered sadly. "But I love these so so much." She stared at them wistfully. "Here, can you hold these, Mo? I want to hold on to them just in case." I took the pair from her and held them gingerly, making sure to not break the $300 I had in my hands. But my mind wandered, replaying Ariel using a nickname for me casually.</p><p>"Oh! What about this one?" I called to Ariel, who was at the other side of the store. She walked over and took the glasses from my grasp. They were Costa Del Mar, the lenses blue with tints of purple and grey, silver frames. Ariel tried that pair on and examined the mirror.</p><p>"Ooh! I like these! A lot! How much?" Ariel said, turning to me.</p><p>"$219, I think," I informed her.</p><p>"These are so expensive," Ariel muttered, looking in the mirror again. I chuckled, agreeing.</p><p>"Hey guys!" I heard Rapunzel yell from the other end of the place. We both turned and there stood Rapunzel, clad in a pair of black cat-eye sunglasses, rhinestones lining the edges. We both laughed at the girl, flaunting the glasses and sassily walking around the store.</p><p>When she came to us, Ariel said, "Those are probably, like, $600. Don't break them!"</p><p>Rapunzel laughed and taking the glasses off, returning them to their shelf.</p><p>"I don't know what to do," Ariel whined, glancing between the two choices with a befuddled look in her eyes. "So expensive..." She stood there for a couple minutes, trying to make a decision. "Okay," she concluded, looking up. "I think I'll go with the Costa Del Mar ones. I really like them and they're less expensive. Thank you for helping me, Mo!"</p><p>"Okay! You're welcome, of course," I concurred, smiling at her. Ariel went to make her purchase and Punzie went to join me, waiting outside the store. Once Ariel accompanied us, we all met up with the rest of the girls at the food court again. Ariel showed off her new sunglasses, and the others displayed their items as well.</p><p>"Does anyone need anything else?" Belle asked.</p><p>Nobody really answered, until Anya piped up, "I have a lot of homework, and Tiger and Elsa said they did too, so I think we're going to go back."</p><p>"Yeah, I have some too," Jane contributed. Rapunzel and Anna nodded. We all agreed to head home, so Rapunzel, Anna, Ariel and I went down to our dorms together where we finished our homework. </p><p> </p><p>MEGARA'S POV</p><p>"What's your last class, Meg?" Kida asked me as we walked through the halls.</p><p>"My elective, creative writing. I'm glad it won't take that much thinking, I'm exhausted," I told her, already worrying about my amount of homework that I had on the first day of school.</p><p>"I wish I had my elective. I have math next," Kida groaned.</p><p>"Sucks," Pocahontas said. "Hey, but I heard Wonderboy is in that class," she piped to me, nudging my arm and raising her eyebrows.</p><p>"Who?" I inquired, confused.</p><p>"Oh, you know. Wonderboy! Hercules? Captain of the football team? Gorgeous biceps? Ring a bell?"</p><p>"Oh... So that's what they call him now," I muttered as we neared my classroom. "Well, see you guys later," I said, drifting away from them.</p><p>"Bye Meggie!" Kida called as Pocahontas waved.</p><p>I walked into my last class, taught by Mr. Caterpillar. I took an empty seat next to no one since none of my friends took this class, taking out my favorite purple pen. I began to doodle on my binder paper. "Can I sit here?" I heard someone ask. I looked up and there, of course, stood Wonderboy himself.</p><p>"Whatever," I replied, going back to doodling and trying to calm down my ferociously beating heart.</p><p>The bell rang as Hercules took a seat. "Good afternoon class," Mr. Caterpillar said drearily. He went on to introduce himself and the class, and sadly ended it with the announcement of a homework assignment of writing down and turning in 5 writing prompts that we would want to answer.</p><p>I sighed, packing up my things and standing up. However, I had forgotten that I had put my purse on the ground and my foot caught on it. I began to fall, my arms flailing, until I felt someone grab my hand, stopping me from hitting the ground. I righted myself, taking a deep breath.</p><p>"Are you all right?" Hercules asked sheepishly, clearing his throat. He was still holding my hand so I pulled it away. I nodded and cleared my that, searching for something to say. </p><p>"Megara. My friends call me Meg. So, do they give you a name along with all those rippling pectorals?" I said. I knew perfectly well what his name was, but I wanted to start a conversation. I handed the purse to him as I zipped up my bag.</p><p>Hercules grasped the bag and stuttered, "Uh...um... I'm..."</p><p>"Are you always this articulate?" I smirked, taking back the purse.</p><p>"Hercules! My name is, um, Hercules," he said quickly, nervously clearing his throat again.</p><p>"Hercules, huh. I think I prefer Wonderboy," I commented, making my way through the desks and to the door.</p><p>"Oh...yeah," he said, rubbing his neck. I gave a small smile.</p><p>"Herc!" someone called from the end of the hall. I saw Phoebus and Aladdin coming towards him, waving. I turned to him as I began to walk out of the classroom, hanging on to the edge of the door.</p><p>"Well, thanks for everything Herc. It's been a real slice," I spoke, saluting him. I started to walk down the hall but Hercules stopped me.</p><p>"Wait! Um... Can I walk you to your dorm?" he offered.</p><p>"I don't think your friends would like me very much," I said glancing at them.</p><p>"Al and Phoebs? No, they'd be more than happy to-"</p><p>"I'll be all right. I'm a big tough girl, I can tie my own shoes and everything," I assured him, showing my nonexistent muscles and punching his shoulder.</p><p>As I began to strut away, I bid, "Goodbye, Wonderboy." I smirked to myself, not looking back, but the butterflies never faded from my stomach as I walked all the way to my dorm. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MULAN'S POV</p><p>As the final bell rang, I stood up in English class. As I slung my pack over my shoulders, Ms. Poppins called out, "Don't forget to get all of your supplies! Composition notebook, college ruled!" I walked passed her, waving, and she gave a small smile. She was quite pretty, perfect makeup and perfect hair. Today she wore a long tan skirt with a white blouse, black tights and a black tie around her neck. She reached to put on her red coat and black hat as I left. </p><p>Outside of the classroom, my friends Judy Hopps and Nani Pelekai accompanied me. Judy smiled at me with her large, spaced front teeth, her grey ponytail swinging. "Hey, Mulan," Nani greeted, falling into place next to me. "What's up?"</p><p>"Well," I began, taking a breath. "I'm going to the football try outs right now."</p><p>"Wow, really?" she asked, looking surprised. </p><p>"That's amazing!" Judy commented, violet eyes brightening. "I can't believe you're doing that!"</p><p>I wanted to say, "Me neither," but kept positive and just nodded. </p><p>"We'll walk you to the field," Nani said. We talked about our first days of school, our dorm mates and classes. I learned that Judy and Nani shared a room with Vidia the fairy. I told them that I had my best friends Pocahontas and Kida, luckily. I could tell that Nani and Judy were becoming closer friends, Judy's enthusiasm balancing out Nani's restrained but strong personality. </p><p>"I ran into this guy called Nick Wilde, heard of him?" Judy babbled. "Anyway, I caught him technically stealing a Pepsi from a vending machine. He didn't say it was stealing, but it still counts. He went to it after someone else's bottle had gotten stuck and he just kicked it a lot, and it fell out and he just drank it! I went up to him and was like, 'Hey! Give that to Adella!' or whichever Atlantica sister it was. But he was like, 'She left it, so apparently she didn't want it. So I got it so that her dollar wouldn't go to waste.' But I told him that he should give it back but he refused and just walked away! I tried to chase after him but he disappeared! He owes Adella a dollar, so when I find him I will demand justice."</p><p>We were nearing the field and when we approached the gates, Nani said, "Well, this is your stop, Mulan. Good luck! Go kick their asses! You're going to do great." She patted my shoulder. </p><p>Judy high fived me, having to reach up from her 5 foot height. "All right. Here I go," I said, taking a deep breath. </p><p>I walked out to the football field, the nerves in my stomach making me want to throw up. On the field, a bunch of huge, burly juniors and seniors were waiting already. I approached them, trying to walk like a big-ego-having high school football guy. I puffed my chest out, trying to ignore the butterflies, stuck my nose up, and made my hands into fists after setting my backpack down. </p><p>"Oh, look, little miss quarterback has arrived. Thank god! We didn't know how we could play without you!" Gaston teased, earning a few laughs. I rolled my eyes at him and turned towards the sound of Coach Phil's voice.</p><p>"All right, ya pansies, line up!" he said. He came into view, almost half the size of the boys but with a huge angry expression. I knew it was going to be in a bad mood most of the time because Meg told me that he works two jobs, managing the cafe in the morning and evening and coaching the football team in the afternoon.</p><p>I scurried into the line, in between Hercules and Shang, the only two I felt comfortable with. Coach walked up and down the line, muttering to himself. He got to me and stopped in his tracks. "Who are you?"</p><p>I drew myself up to full height. "Fa Mulan, sir," I answered after clearing my throat.</p><p>"Hmm," he murmured, moving on.</p><p>"All right, boys - er, uh, players – we'll be doing some drills and then mimic a game to see which position you'll play. If you don't get on the team, you'll probably be a standby... that is unless you're absolutely horrible." I felt his and some guys' eyes glance at me, but I shook it off. "We'll begin with catching and throwing for a warm up. Pair up!" He opened a bag full of footballs and we all surged towards it.</p><p>"See, this is a football," Gaston said, showing it to me like I was a child. "You throw it and catch it. Got it?"</p><p>"I know how to play football," I retorted, raising my eyebrow.</p><p>"Yeah dude, back off. Let's see if you know how to play football though, huh?" Hercules told him firmly, pushing the ball back into his chest. Gaston grunted and sauntered off to join Adam, his partner.</p><p>Hercules gave me a smile. "Hey Mulan, want to throw together?" Shang asked me.</p><p>"Yeah, sure," I replied, taking the ball he handed me. I had been in a relationship with Shang for a while in freshman year until realizing that I leaned the other way, if you know what I mean. However, Shang and I remained super close friends, and I was grateful that I had him at this try out.</p><p>Shang and I threw the ball back and forth, growing further apart with each one. We then did some running and exercises until we finally mimicked a game. I rotated positions about three times, and each time I felt I did really well.</p><p>At the end, we all lined up again and Phil told us that the list would be up in a few days. I left with Shang, Hercules catching up to us.</p><p>"Hey, Mulan, you did really well," he said kindly. "And obviously, you too Shang."</p><p>"Thanks!" I said, feeling lighter. Hercules was the team captain after all, so if he thinks I did well, there was a chance that I would get on the team.</p><p>I bounced back to my dorm room where I was greeted by Kida and Pocahontas who were doing yoga in the small space. Both were balancing on their arms with their legs twisted around.</p><p>"Mulan! How'd it go?" Pocahontas asked, lifting her head up.</p><p>"Good! I think I have a shot, actually!" I fell on my bed and sighed, smiling.</p><p>"That's great!" Kida said, unfolding herself and standing up, taking a sip of water.</p><p>"Did Gaston give you a hard time?" Poca inquired, also standing and taking her hair out of her bun.</p><p>"Kind of, but it was okay. I had Shang there."</p><p>"Good." They both nodded.</p><p>I sat up and reluctantly began my homework, the anticipation of the team list tomorrow in the back of my mind. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MERIDA'S POV</p><p>I triumphantly slapped down my pencil after writing the answer to my last problem. "I finished!" I announced to Meg, taking out an earbud. I looked down on her. She was lying on the ground, chips in hand and watching Netflix.</p><p>"Congratulations," she answered, looking up at me. "Want some chips?" she offered, thrusting the bag of salt and vinegar Lays at me. I scrunched up my nose, shaking my head with my orange curls bouncing around me. </p><p>"No thanks. I'm just going to get my own snacks because yours are awful." </p><p>"Hey!" she exclaimed in a defensive tone.</p><p>"Sorry, but it's true," I shrugged, placing my earbud back in.  As I began to put my work away, I heard a knock on the door through my music. I stood and stepped over Meg, approaching the door. I opened it after setting down my earbuds and phone.</p><p>There in the doorway stood Hiccup, my best friend. "Hiccup!" I yelled, hugging him.</p><p>"Hey Merida!" he said, hugging back. He released me. "How are you?"</p><p>"Great!" I told him genuinely, smiling widely.</p><p>"Do you want to, like, go on a walk or something? To catch up?" he proposed.</p><p>"Yeah. Actually, I was just about to go to the grocery store to get some snacks for me, since someone likes gross things that I don't want," I said, shooting a glare back at Megara.</p><p>"Hey, it's not my fault!" she called, crunching on another one.</p><p>I scoffed and turned back to Hiccup, who said, "Yeah, that sounds great."</p><p>I smiled and turned to grab my wallet and phone. On my way out, I stuck my tongue out at Meg, getting one back.</p><p>On the walk to the grocery store, both of us caught up on each other's summers. Hiccup lived on a very secluded island, so there was little service to be able to call him.</p><p>"So, who are your roommates?" I asked him, hopping over a crack in the sidewalk.</p><p>"Jack, thankfully," he replied happily.</p><p>"Oh, that's good!" I said. Jack Frost also transferred to Disney Academy from Dreamworks Hall, and the two had become best friends.</p><p>"And Hans..." he added, not-so-happily.</p><p>"Oh... Oh no." Everyone knew that Hans was no good after the news of him cheating on Anna came out.</p><p>"Yeah..."</p><p>"Well, good luck!" I said, laughing and pushing him with my shoulder. He laughed too.</p><p>We arrived at the grocery store and I immediately grabbed a basket. I cheered and ran into the heart of the store and straight to the candy aisle.</p><p>"Slow down!" Hiccup called, chuckling and running after me. I shoveled multiple packages of Skittles, MnMs, marshmallows, Sour Patch Kids, Kit-Kats, and other candies into the basket until Hiccup caught up to me.</p><p>"You're going to get diabetes if you eat all of that this week," he said to me, eyeing the basket.</p><p>"Who says I'm going to eat it this week? I'm finishing this all today." I saw his eyes widen and nose scrunch up, looking fearful and grossed out. I kept my serious face on for as long as I could until I exploded with laughter, snorting. As my laughter subsided, I realized Hiccup was smiling too.</p><p>"Don't worry, Hiccup, I'll pace myself," I assured him, hoping he couldn't see that I was definitely going to eat all of these in a few days.</p><p>I went to get some other non-sugary snacks and went to checkout. Hiccup offered to take the bags, but I refused and carried most of the bags on the walk home.</p><p>While we walked, Hiccup told me a story about his summer with his new pet, a new baby dragon. I had became friends with Hiccup when I realized that he tamed dragons on his island.</p><p>Suddenly, something white landed on his brown hair. I looked up at a bird on a telephone wire and realized that Hiccup had been pooped on. I shouted with laughter, holding my stomach and beginning to tear up, my stomach and throat hurting at my forceful snorting. He looked confused, his eyes looking up. He looked at me again and asked, "What just happened?" </p><p>I struggled to answer, but I choked out, "A bird crapped on you!" He gasped and his eyes widened. </p><p>"Oh my gosh!" he yelled, waving his hands. He been to try to touch it, but thought better of it. We were nearing a crosswalk. </p><p>"Hiccup! Hiccup, watch out!" I shouted, watching in slow motion as Hiccup crashed into a pole, falling backward and the bags in his hands falling to the ground.</p><p>He sat on the ground, dumbfounded and rubbing his chin where he had hit the pole. I burst into laughter again, kneeling on the ground. I continued snorting and my gut started to hurt even more, but I couldn't stop laughing, tears streaming from my eyes. Once my laughter subsided, I realized Hiccup was laughing too.</p><p>"Are you okay? Did you walk under a ladder of something today?" I asked, beginning to pick up the fallen groceries. I then held my hands out to help him up, and once he was done laughing he looked at me. He then took my hands and hauled himself up. As he brushed his clothes off, I smiled, replaying the moment of the poop flying down and then Hiccup running into the pole in my mind.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, looking at me. "Just hit my chin." He touched it again and I studied it. I could tell that a bruise had already started to form and would grow to be quite big soon.</p><p>"Well, you're going to have a bruise for sure," I told him as I handed him back his bags. "But now you'll look even better for all the girls at school! Especially if you keep the dung in your hair, it has a nice touch." He laughed, but it seemed forced.</p><p>We walked back to our dorms and Hiccup went with me to put the food in my dorm. While we were in the elevator, I asked, "Hey, do you want to have a best friend movie night date in my dorm? I mean, we have all this food. And you can take a shower."</p><p>"Oh, sure!" he said, smiling falteringly. We walked down the hall and I entered my room using my key, pushing the door open with my foot. Giselle, my roommate, was humming to her self as she twirled around the room, putting on a flower crown.</p><p>"Hello Merida!" she said brightly, stopping her frolicking. "Who's this?"</p><p>"This is Hiccup, my best friend," I introduced, placing down my bags.</p><p>"Hello Hiccup! I see the birds have chosen you too! Congratulations!" she greeted, waving. "Well, I was just about to go to the park and the diner with Edward, so I'll leave you two alone."</p><p>"Okay, great," I said, motioning for Hiccup to come in and put the bags down. He looked at her weirdly after her bird comment, but I learned to brush it off. </p><p>"See you later, Merida! Have fun!" she said, bouncing out of the door. I closed it after her and sighed.</p><p>"So!" I said, spreading my hands out at the bags of groceries. "What movie do you want to start with?"</p><p>"Umm... Narnia?" he suggested.</p><p>"Sure!" I agreed. I grabbed some comfortable clothes and told Hiccup, "I'm just going to change, do you mind setting up the movie? Then we can switch and you get take a shower." I showed Hiccup my DVD collection and then slipped into the bathroom.</p><p>I quickly changed from my overall shorts and baseball tee to my favorite sweats and teal hoodie. I took my contacts out and replaced them with my classes and finally piled my hair up in a sloppy bun. As I walked out of the bathroom, the logos in the beginning of the movie were just starting to show. Hiccup was sitting on the floor, up against the couch when he looked up at me. "You wear glasses?" he asked, astonished.</p><p>"Yeah," I said, puzzled. "I wear contacts. You didn't know that?"</p><p>"No," he said thoughtfully.</p><p>"Well, now you do."</p><p>"They look cute on you," Hiccup remarked, nudging them with his knuckle. I giggled and pushed up the round black glasses to the bridge of my nose.</p><p>"Well, thank you. You can take a shower, all the products are pretty clearly labeled. You can use my stuff, not Giselle's so you don't smell as strongly as flowers. And do you want fresh clothes?" I said. </p><p>"Okay, sure," he said, standing up. "But I don't need clothes, I'm fine."</p><p>"Are you sure? Honestly it's no problem, I have some pajama pants and a sweatshirt," I prompted. </p><p>"Okay, fine," he complied. I stood up to take my green and blue plaid pants and large grey sweatshirt to throw at him. Hiccup disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of the water turning on. He emerged, bird poop gone, in my clothes and sat next to me.  I ripped into a package of Red Vines and passed him the Hersheys, which I knew were his favorite. The movie began.</p><p> </p><p>Once we had finished Narnia and Star Wars, it was almost 9 pm. We had broken the new rule, no opposite genders on the others' floors after 8, but I knew that it wouldn't be enforced strongly. Both of us stood up from our positions on the floor, which had transformed from sitting to sprawled out, covered in blankets and crumbs. "Well, I should probably go," Hiccup said, folding up a blanket. "Hopefully I won't get detention for being here at 9."</p><p>"Yeah, you'll be fine," I assured him, picking up an empty wrapper.</p><p>"Well, see you tomorrow?" he asked, holding his arms out. I nodded, knowing that we had PE together.</p><p>I hugged him, his arms lingering after I let go. "Okay, well... Wish me luck," he said, opening the door and looking at me sheepishly.</p><p>"Good luck, Hiccup," I smiled, taking hold of the doorknob as he walked into the hall. He gave me a crooked grin and then turned to take off down the hall towards the elevators. Right before he entered them, he gave me a small wave. I laughed slightly, returning the wave, and watched as he disappeared into the elevator. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello! How is everybody?</p><p>We got a really long Moana POV, I didn't expect it to be that long haha. We seem to have two people after Wonderboy, but who will win his heart? Lottie sacrifices herself to spy on Vanessa for the good of the other Disney students, but where will that lead her? Moana seems to be getting friendlier with Ariel. Milan tried out for the football team, but will she get on? Will stereotypes continue to rule sports? What is going on between Hiccup and Merida?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Have you ever been to a Disney park? If so, which one? What was your favorite ride?</p><p>Yes, I've been to Disneyland and California Adventure. My favorite rides are Tower of Terror, all the Mountains, and Peter Pan's Flight.</p><p>I am focusing on this book right now, but I have another book that I started a couple years ago called I Am Disney, about a descendant of Walt Disney, so if you want to go check it out that'd be cool! It's not very planned out or plot based, but I like writing it. But I am focusing on this right now, so this is much better.</p><p>You can still give me suggestions on what POVs you want, I'm still open to ideas!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>RAPUNZEL'S POV</p><p>"Come on Moana!" I called, dragging her to the dance room. I had woken us up early so that we could see the list for the dance team.</p><p>"Hold on!" she laughed at me, losing her breath already as we flew down the hall.</p><p>We arrived at the door of the dance room where a crowd of people were already standing. My nerves spiked as I saw some people celebrating but a lot walking away, disappointed looks on their faces. Since Moana and I were both short, we fought our way to the crowd to see the posted cast list.</p><p>Dance Team</p><p>Gypse, Esmeralda</p><p>Atlantica, Adella</p><p>Corona, Rapunzel</p><p>Evans, Marian</p><p>Headley, Nala</p><p>Lily, Tiger</p><p>Lucian, Iridessa</p><p>Motunui, Moana</p><p>Nedakh, Kida</p><p>Sea, Vanessa</p><p>Understudies</p><p>La Bouff, Charlotte</p><p>Llyr, Eliwony</p><p>Tremaine, Anastasia</p><p> </p><p>I gasped. I felt excitement and astonishment bubbling up inside me. Turning to Moana who was behind me and couldn't see, I yelled while jumping up and down, "MO! WE GOT IN! WE GOT IN!"</p><p>"Really?" she said, her surprised smile growing. "We got in?"</p><p>"Yes!" I yelled, hugging her tightly and causing her to jump too.</p><p>"Oh my gosh!" she shouted, hugging me back.</p><p>After we finished congratulating each other, someone forcefully pushed me aside to see the list. I grunted and fell into Moana, apologizing. I looked up and saw a wave perfectly curled black hair. People began parting the way for her and Anastasia, Drizella, Lottie, and Marie followed the girl, who I concluded was Vanessa Sea. She turned around, tossing her hair with a smug look on her perfectly-make-uped face.  "I knew I'd get in." She sashayed away, her navy leather bag swinging on her elbow. I frowned.</p><p>Anastasia and Lottie, who'd both auditioned, went to confront the list after her. Drizella and Marie followed Vanessa away from the crowd, practically kissing her toes. Everyone was quiet, either watching Vanessa or holding their breaths at the other girls' reactions. Everyone knew Lottie was sweet and generous to basically everyone, and Anastasia was the kindest of the other four. Their eyes were bright and hopeful as they scanned down the list, their shoulders soon sagging. I saw Anastasia's lip tremble a bit and Lottie sighed, looking down. She put her hand on Anastasia's shoulder comfortingly, whispering, "It's okay, Ani. We're understudies, it's okay. Maybe we'll get on. You'll be okay." Anastasia was sniffling, trying not to reveal her sadness to the silent crowd watching.</p><p>"Girls!" Vanessa barked, startling everyone. "Get over here!"</p><p>Anastasia and Lottie walked heavily down the aisle people had created to Vanessa, trailing behind her as she disappeared from the hall.</p><p>"Who's that?" Moana whispered to me. A bunch of people had begun whispering too.</p><p>"That's Vanessa," I told her, staring after her. Drizella and Marie were still congratulating her, Anastasia and Lottie still mourning, but she dismissed them snobbily. I rolled my eyes at her but looked pityingly after Lottie and Anastasia, who was crying now.</p><p>"Come on, Moana. Let's go to homeroom," I said, taking her wrist and leading her away from the crowds.</p><p>"Is that the Vanessa who is dating Ariel's crush?" she inquired, running with me.</p><p>"Yeah," I answered. We went to our lockers, which were 2 away from each other and got our books.</p><p>"Hey!" Ariel and Anna said, popping up beside us. "Did you get in?"</p><p>"Yes!" I squeaked to them.</p><p>"Yay! Congratulations!" Ariel yelled, hugging Moana. Anna hugged me and I laughed. I saw Moana smiling, giggling, and blushing as she embraced Ariel back.</p><p>After talking about what the auditions were like, Ariel announced, "I have swim team try-outs today. I'm super nervous."</p><p>"Oh, you'll be fine. You got on last year," I reassured her. "You're practically a fish out of water." We all laughed.</p><p>"You'll do amazing, Ariel," Moana said after our laughter subsided. Anna agreed.</p><p>"Thanks, you guys," Ariel expressed gratefully. </p><p>The warning bell rang, causing the four of us to abruptly end our conversation and for us to separate to our homerooms. Ariel and I went to our retired to our homeroom, taught by Mr. Gepetto, the art teacher. </p><p> </p><p>TIANA'S POV</p><p>I sat in homeroom, organizing my binder's folders, all labeled with multicolored tabs. My friends sat around me, chatting, and I chipped in once and a while.</p><p>The bell rang, and then the xylophone chimes sounded to signal that the announcements were coming up. The microphone crackled and then the Fairy Godmother cleared her throat into it. "Good morning students!" she greeted happily. The classroom quieted down to hear her news. "Happy second day of school! Now that everybody is more settled in, let us get into more serious things. First of all, student council elections are just around the corner! Students can apply for office for your grade using the form in the main office. We will review your grades and record, and in one day we will announce you so you can begin your campaign."</p><p>I perked up about the news. Being student president has always been a goal of mine, and it would look amazing on college applications. I always have walked around this school with ideas about how I could make it better if I ever became president. In freshman year, the president we had had was Simba Weaver, but even though he had promised great changes, once he won he sort of clammed up and didn't do anything. I believed I had the guts and motivation to make actual changes that needed to be done, and I was also plenty organized and logical enough.</p><p>"You would be an amazing president, Tia," Mulan commented. Pocahontas and Kida nodded.</p><p>"You have to do it," Jasmine encouraged.</p><p>"Thank you, guys. I'm going to," I said gleefully, smiling at them. The girls around me cheered and applauded me, earning a sharp hush from Professor Frollo. Jasmine, who despised him, shot him a glare which he returned until the microphone crackled again.</p><p>"Secondly," Fairy Godmother's voice spoke, "the fall musical production of Grease is coming up! Auditions are open on Friday, September 8th after school in the theater. Mr. Scar, our musical theatre instructor, and Miss Rose, the choir director, will be directing the audition. They would like for each of you to have prepared a solo from the show and to be prepared for a few line readings. Updates will follow. Have a nice day!"</p><p>The room burst into chatter and I began thinking about my campaign as student council president. Soon, the bell rang and I walked into my first period, science. I sat down in my seat and took my newly organized binder out. Miss Ursula walked in, sighing, and plunked down her bag.</p><p>After she addressed the class, she said, "I recommend that you and your group set up a meet up time to discuss your group project." I rolled my eyes at the thought of Naveen in my and Megara's group. Miss Ursula went on to explain what the project was about and the requirements. She passed out a packet that had a checklist, which I was very excited to check everything off of; that is, if we ever got anything done with Naveen holding us back.</p><p>After I went through 4 periods, it was lunch. As I went to sit with my friends, I went to talk to Meg. "Hey Meg, do you want to meet for science today? Maybe at the bistro? After my shift, though. Over dinner at 7?"</p><p>"Yeah, sure. Just as long as you tell Maldonia," she said, a judging tone coming in when she mentioned Naveen. I rolled my eyes again and sighed. Megara snickered and nudged me with her shoulder. "Have fun."</p><p>"Thanks," I deadpanned. "Could you get my lunch for me? I'm just going to ask him now."</p><p>"Sure. What do you want?"</p><p>"A pasta salad, please. And water," I told her.</p><p>"Sure thing. Good luck!" Meg called after me as I walked over to where Naveen was sitting today. I noticed that, unfortunately, he was with the jocks, and I sighed once more as I made my way over to their area, clutching my binder closer to my chest. I adjusted my circular yellow purse over my shoulder, matching my yellow-skirted dress with a matching collar over the black and white dotted top. I walked right up to Naveen who was chortling over his friends over a joke he had just told, most likely a sexist one.</p><p>"Naveen," I said sharply, trying to get his attention.</p><p>He turned around to look up at me and his face split into a smirk. "Why hello there, love. What can I do for you?" he asked easily, quirking an eyebrow and grinning. His friends made noises, egging him on with enthusiastic noises. I rolled my eyes and tried not to give them a rude gesture.</p><p>"Can you meet up tonight at the bistro?" I asked, straight to the point.</p><p>Naveen chuckled at me. "Well, sweetheart, I am usually the one who asks the dates, but I know how irresistible I am. You couldn't hold yourself back. And sure, whatever you want."</p><p>I grumbled, frowning. "I am not asking you on a date," I said firmly through gritted teeth. "I'm talking about the science project group with Megara. Can you be at the Big Bad Wolf Bistro at 7?"</p><p>Naveen looked back at his friends, laughing as if he didn't believe that I was asking him on a date. Then he looked back at me. "Sure thing, love. Your wish is my command."</p><p>As his friends made loud noises, I scowled and stomped off. I roughly slid into a seat next to Meg, still ruffled from Naveen's cocky comments. "How was it?" Meg asked, chomping into a pastrami sandwich. She pushed my bowl of pasta salad towards me as well as my bottled water. I had forgotten to ask for a refill of my reusable bottle to save plastic, but drank from the bottle anyway.</p><p>"Thanks," I said. I began ranting. "He's awful. He thinks he's so cool and desirable and amazing, but he's actually repulsive."</p><p>"Yeah, I know. But you have to admit, he's kind of cute," Meg admitted, smirking at me. I scoffed, taking an angry bite of my lunch.</p><p>"Not my type." To be honest, I had never really had a type. Drowning in AP classes, work, friend drama, and book club, I never really had time to be infatuated with crushes and loves.</p><p>"Are you going to run for president, Tia?" Elsa asked from across the table. Most of my closest friends knew that I had always wanted to be class president.</p><p>"Yes, I am! Speaking of that, I need to go to the office after school to pick up an application. Will you remind me, Nani or Judy?" I asked, knowing the two were in my last class also, history.</p><p>"Sure! Class president sounds amazing, but I don't think I'd be able to win," Judy noted thoughtfully. "Plus, I wouldn't want to run against you, Tiana."</p><p>Judy Hopps and I had only become friends at the end of last year when she joined our squad, so we weren't completely as comfortable as we could be yet. However, she was very kind and enthusiastic, a nice variation to our group. "You don't have to worry about that, Judy. You should run if you want to!" I consoled, smiling warmly at the girl.</p><p>She grinned back, saying, "Maybe I will. I'll think about it." I nodded encouragingly and then went on to discuss the campaigns with Meg.</p><p>"So, who'd be your campaign manager if - when - you get nominated?" Meg asked curiously.</p><p>I considered for a while, surveying the large round table that all of my friends sat at. "Well, obviously I'd consider you. Maybe Nala, too. She seems to be very smart and popular and fashionable. And perhaps Jasmine," I concluded.</p><p>"Well," Meg said jokingly, flipping her plum-colored ponytail. "Thank you."</p><p>I giggled. "You're welcome."</p><p>At that moment, the bell rang. We stood up, returning our plates, bowls, and silverware to their dirty stations and heading to our fifth periods. Since I didn't have any time for sports, I was one of the few people who took actual PE. I shared that class with Milo Thatch, someone I had become friends with through the book club started by Belle. I walked into the locker room, stuffing my yellow bag into the locker and taking out my PE clothes, uncomfortable black shirts and red gym shorts, accented with yellow. I quickly changed into them, then emerging into the gym, running to my class.</p><p>I sat next to Milo, who, of course, looked scrawny in the too-big gym clothes as always. "Hey," I said breathlessly.</p><p>"Hi there," Milo greeted, pushing up his large round glasses.</p><p>"How are you?" I asked as Coach Bagheera began taking role.</p><p>"Fine. Did you hear the student council announcement?"</p><p>"Yes! Are you going to run?" I asked.</p><p>"Yes, but not for president. I'm going to run for historian," Milo told me excited.</p><p>"Oh, that's perfect for you," I said, knowing Milo raised his hand after almost every question in history class. He often gushed about it and his theories.</p><p>"Thanks!" he said brightly. "Are you running?"</p><p>"I sure am. I'm going for president," I declared. Milo celebrated for me and we spent the rest of our free time conferring about campaigns.</p><p>When fifth period ended, I hurriedly changed back into my dress and walked to math, joining Nani and Judy. We went through the whole class smoothly, beginning instruction since it was the second day of school.</p><p>Afterward, Judy came up to me. "So, I think I'm going to get an application too!"</p><p>"Good for you, Judy! Let's go to the main office," I said, beginning to walk to the main entrance.</p><p>Judy and I approached the office, Judy chatting merrily along the way. I walked up to the desk, Minnie typing away into a computer. "Excuse me," I said politely, trying to get her attention. She looked up and smiled brightly.</p><p>"Yes, what can I help you with?" she asked in her high voice as she walked up to us.</p><p>"Could we get some sophomore student council applications?" Judy asked.</p><p>"Oh, yes of course! What position are you running for?"</p><p>"President," we both answered as she beamed at us, picking up two applications from a pile.</p><p>She handed them over, saying, "Good luck girls! Your application must be turned into the office by tomorrow so we can review your records by Friday. Then we will announce the nominees. Students will vote in homeroom, and the top four candidates for the president and vice will be said over the loudspeaker in sixth period, as well as all the others."</p><p>"Thanks!" Judy voiced cheerily, taking the packet. I followed her actions, thanking Minnie as well. We left the office together, looking through the two papers. As I scanned them, the possibility of being eligible for president was heightening for me as I met all of the requirements. </p><p>When Judy and I went off of campus, I said, "All right, I've got to get off to the diner, Judy. My shift starts in -" I glanced at my watch. " - twelve minutes."</p><p>"Okay! See you later, Tia!" she said, waving after me. I began to slightly jog down the sidewalk, cursing my choice of yellow and black heels. My feet hurt horribly, so halfway there, I slipped off my heels and ran the rest of the way barefooted. Before entering Daisy's Diner, I put my shoes back on and pushed open the door, the familiar bell tinkle welcoming me.</p><p>"Orleans!" Chef Louis shouted from the window that was between the open bar space and the kitchen. "You're late!"</p><p>I glanced at my watch again, reading 3:32. I was two minutes late. Rolling my eyes, I sighed, "Sorry, Louis. I had to do something at school."</p><p>"Eh," he responded gruffly, not caring. "Get back here! The after school rush is beginning." I walked back to the room next to the kitchens, changing into my comfortable sneakers, knowing I'd be on my feet almost the rest of the day. Daisy let us wear our normal clothes when we were waitressing, if only we wore an apron over it. However, today I was cooking as well because the other chefs did not arrive for another 45 minutes.</p><p>As I tied my waitress apron around my waist, I walked into the kitchen to wash my hands. "Hey, Rapunzel! I greeted. Rapunzel was our main baker, making things from cakes to pies, her specialty.</p><p>"Oh, hi Tiana!" she responded, wiping flour on her apron. "How are you?"</p><p>"Oh, fine, fine. You?"</p><p>"Great!"</p><p>"What'cha makin'?" I asked, peering over at her workspace.</p><p>"A couple things: pecan pie, apple pie, carrot cake, oatmeal cookies, and pound cake. I'm going for a fall theme today, like for a second day of school, beginning of fall thing," she answered, looking around at her strewn cookbooks.</p><p>"Wow, sounds amazing. Make sure to save me a couple bites!" I called, walking onto the floor of the diner. I took my notepad out of my front pocket, uncapping my pen. I walked up to table 3, occupied by Aurora, Philip, Snow, Florian, Cinderella, and Henry.</p><p>"Hey everybody!" I said cheerfully. "How y'all doing?"</p><p>"Good!" they said back. "How are you, Tia?" Snow asked.</p><p>"Oh, good, thank you. Can I get you anything to drink?" I took their orders and everybody else's, also tending to the people at the bar.</p><p>Around one-third of the way through my shift, Rapunzel called, "Hey T, can you put these pies in the display case?"</p><p>I took the apple and pecan pie and set them in the glass case, noticing that a slice from each was missing, probably for Rapunzel and I to sample afterward. I pushed through the rest of my shift, my feet aching and feeling incredibly tired. I ended up making my specialty gumbo, chili, a few burgers, sandwiches, and milkshakes.</p><p>At 6:50, having run a little late due to one of the cooks running late for their dinner shift, I took off the apron and unfortunately changed back into my heels. My hair, that was once large and wavy, was now frizzy and straight due to the steam and heat in the kitchen. Rapunzel had left at 6:30, when I was supposed to leave, and she had given me a foam to-go box of pie slices. I had barely remembered that I had to meet Naveen and Meg at the Big Bad Wolf Bistro. I sighed as I began walking toward the bistro on the other side of town. It was one of the diner's main competitors.</p><p>I walked into the restaurant at 7:01, the place buzzing with hungry students that wanted dinner. Just then, I heard my phone ringing. I pulled it out of my purse, realizing it was Meg, and held it to my ear. "Hello?" I said, plugging my other ear in the noisy restaurant to hear her.</p><p>"Tiana? Hey, I can see you. I'm to the right of you, in the second booth," she said. I scanned the room, spotting Meg who was waving me over.</p><p>"Oh! I see you," I said, pointing at her. I hung up and walked to her, sliding in on her side, not wanting to sit next to Naveen. "Hey."</p><p>"Hey. How was work?" she asked. "I waited for you to get drinks."</p><p>"Thanks. It was fine, I'm just exhausted," I admitted. "But I need to get used to it because this is what most of my days are going to be like. Luckily, I don't have very much homework today. I have the checklist, though." I pulled out the paper and a black fountain pen.</p><p>A waitress came to our table and asked if we wanted drinks, and we chose not to wait for Naveen, who was becoming increasingly late. I ordered sweet iced tea and Meg got sparkling water. I told her that Judy and I had gotten president applications and made casual conversation.</p><p>"Where is he?" I wondered, looking at my watch. Naveen was seventeen minutes late, the time being 7:17.</p><p>"I'm not sure... You said seven, right? Or maybe he forgot."</p><p>I sighed. "Yes, I said seven."</p><p>"Hold on, let me text him," Meg muttered, pulling out her her phone case clad in a black phone case with metal studs at the top. Meg's main colors consisted of black and purple, her style bordering on emo and metal.</p><p>"You have his number? Why?" I asked, surprised.</p><p>"Honestly, I don't know. I think he gave it to me at a party or something. You want it?" Meg offered, smirking.</p><p>"No," I said quickly, backing away. "Thanks." Meg tapped away on her phone, sending a questioning text to Maldonia. The waitress had come to our table a couple of times to get our food orders, becoming impatient with us due to the busy, overflowing crowd, but we had requested to wait.</p><p>Finally, she came back another time and Meg and I simply ordered, Meg getting smoked cheddar mac &amp; cheese and I ordered lobster tacos. The bistro was a bit more expensive, but the two items we chose were sides and appetizers, cheaper.</p><p>Right as the waitress brought out our food at 7:34, Naveen slid into the booth suddenly. "Hello, ladies," he said, running his hand through his brown hair.</p><p>"Where were you?" Meg questioned accusingly, pointing her fork at him.</p><p>"I just got caught up with some things, love. But don't worry, I'm here. I see you didn't wait for me, though."</p><p>"You are 35 minutes late," I said blankly, staring at him as I lifted my taco.</p><p>"Yeah? So? It's not that bad," he said stupidly, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and took a bite of the taco, adding seasoning. The waitress irritably walked back up to us, taking Naveen's order of a Coke and steak.</p><p>"Woah, what happened to you, Orleans?" Naveen asked, staring blatantly at my straight, frizzy hair. I glowered at him, taken aback that he would have the mind to comment on my looks.</p><p>"I was working, actually doing something productive in my life. Probably something you've never heard of," I snapped. Naveen gave me a side-eye, getting his meal quickly.</p><p>"So," I started, shaking off his rude comment. "About this project. Does anyone have any ideas? I have some, but do you have any suggestions?"</p><p>"We have to do a visual project with chemistry, but it's kind of unfair that we have to do it before we've really learned anything," Meg complained.</p><p>I agreed, and Naveen kept pigging out on his steak, the most expensive item on the menu. "I was looking things up last night, and I thought it would be interesting to do something with the colors of different compounds, chromatography."</p><p>"That sounds interesting. Did you read anything about how you do it? Do you need a lot of supplies or preparations?" Meg asked, shoveling her mac &amp; cheese in her mouth.</p><p>"We need some special paper and different compounds, but that shouldn't be that hard to get. Did you have any ideas?" I asked, wanting to make sure I wasn't taking over the project.</p><p>"No, you're way more prepared than me. This sounds perfect. How about it, Maldonia?" Meg responded.</p><p>He looked up from his phone, his mouth stuffed with food. "Hm? Oh, yeah, whatever. Good." I frowned, realizing that he wasn't paying attention, neither did he care.</p><p>"Okay..." I said, glancing at Meg. "So it says here that we're supposed to have a sort of presentation. Ursula recommended a poster, so maybe a 3-panel poster board? We can paste our report on there." Meg nodded in agreement, Naveen giving no response. "Okay, we should split up the work. So Meg, would you mind getting the supplies and once we do the experiment, recording the procedure? I can do the hypothesis and explanation and Naveen, you can put the poster together and write the conclusion." I had given the boy a smaller, less academic part because I knew that his grades weren't that good and he didn't try that hard, and I didn't want him bringing down a majority of the grade for me and Megara.</p><p>"That's a lot. You expect me to decorate the whole poster and write the conclusion? Chemistry doesn't even make any sense to me," Naveen whined, finally pitching in. I looked at Meg, trying to figure out how to respond.</p><p>"Um..." I started. "Well, actually, that's the easiest part, actually. Meg and I will be doing all the work, so all you have to do is decorate and summarize."</p><p>Naveen scoffed. "I don't think so," he muttered, giving me a look and going back to his phone. I squinted my eyes at him but dismissed it, gathering that he was going to do the work anyway. As we finished our meals, I noticed and became annoyed with the fact that Naveen would not stop running his hand through his gelled hair.</p><p>The waitress came back, taking an order of creme brûlée from Naveen. Once he finished and we got the check, he said, "So we should just split it three ways." Meg and I shared a look, baffled.</p><p>"What?" she asked.</p><p>"No," I said firmly. "We each got 10 dollar items with 2 dollar drinks. You got a 28 dollar steak, a 2 dollar drink, and a 10 dollar dessert! You ate almost 30 dollars more than us! There's no way we're splitting it."</p><p>He fixed his eyes on mine uncomfortably, pulling out his wallet. "You're making me do too much work and I came all the way out here, so I think we should split it. It's only about 21 dollars each, plus tips."</p><p>"No! That's ten dollars more for each of us! Not everyone is filthy rich like you, Maldonia," I said hotly. I glared at him and he sat back, returning the look. We stayed there, staring daggers at each other for several minutes, Meg huffing and rolling her eyes. We even all got our free refills as we sat there silently.</p><p>"You know what?" Meg finally sighed. "Fine! Let's just pay, Tia. He's not going to even try to be a gentleman." Naveen bore a smug look, sneering at me.</p><p>"What? Meg, we can't give up!" I exclaimed, gaping at her.</p><p>"It's 8:20, Tia. I have homework, so do you, and I know you're tired. He's not going to give up."</p><p>"Neither am I!" I retaliated.</p><p>"Here, I'll pay for you," she said, slapping the money onto the check. Naveen did too, tipping cheaply.</p><p>"No, no." I didn't want Meg paying for me because of Naveen's stubbornness. I angrily pulled out $24, putting it on the check, blood boiling, scowling at the egotistical face Naveen had.</p><p>We all stood up, and Naveen said, "By the way, Orleans, that dress looks hot on you. Accentuates everything in all the right places." He winked, looking me up and down and fixating on my chest. Suddenly, my anger exploded out of me.</p><p>"SHUT UP!" I shouted, getting close to his face, getting hit in the face with a wall of pungent cologne. "Shut up! You are so rude, repulsive, and disgusting! First you come in late, you criticize my hair, then you complain, you make us pay for you, and now you're commenting on my body? You're unbelievable! Stop smiling! And stop running your hands through your greasy, gross hair!"</p><p>He froze, the smirk stuck on his face. "I'm just giving you a compliment-"</p><p>Without thinking, I picked up his full glass of Coke and dumped it on his head. I stormed out of the restaurant, not taking notice to the silence of the watching customers. I was met with the warm evening air, stomping all the way home and forgetting about how much my feet hurt.</p><p>"Tiana!" I heard Meg call from behind me. She ran to catch up to me. Out of breath, she gushed, "That was so amazing. You should've seen the look on his face! And I noticed his friends were there and everybody started laughing, so he got humiliated! It's going to take him a long time to get that sticky Coke off him. Oh, that was was so cool."</p><p>I felt a little light of satisfaction burning inside of me and gave a small smirk. "Serves him right," I murmured.</p><p>"Anyway. I'll walk you home," Meg said. We walked all the way back to our dorms in silence, Meg dropping me off at my room. I thanked her, tiredly walking into the room where Lottie and Esmeralda awaited.</p><p>"Hey, honey. Oh, what happened to you? Are you okay?" Lottie asked concernedly, standing up from her pink bean bag. She came over to touch my arm comfortingly, looking at me with worry in her deep blue eyes. I laid my head on her shoulder defeatedly, whimpering. "Aw," she sighed, hugging me and petting my hair. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay," she murmured. I tried not to cry. I could tell that Esmeralda had stood up in concern.</p><p>She led me to her bed, and I collapsed on it. "What happened?" Esmeralda asked.</p><p>"I'm so tired," I replied, closing my eyes. "I had dinner with Meg and Naveen and he was so tremendously rude. I yelled at him and poured his Coke on him."</p><p>Esmeralda snorted, Lottie also covering up her smile. "That's pretty good," Esme chuckled.</p><p>"Yeah, T, you really showed him. I'm proud of you, honey. Now you just get some rest, okay?" Lottie said.</p><p>"Thanks, but the problem is that I can't. I have homework, plus I have to fill out a presidential application," I said, rubbing my temples.</p><p>"Oh. Do you need help?" she asked, always the helpful one. But I could tell through her smile that she was exhausted as well and had had a difficult day.</p><p>"No, thanks Lottie. I'll just get it done fast. Plus, it's mostly not hard." Grudgingly, I pulled out all of my incomplete work and began, quickly finishing my history, math, and French homework. Then I pulled out the application, scanning over it. I thoroughly went through it, wanting to seem as sophisticated and academic as possible to make me seem qualified.</p><p>Almost falling asleep, I finished the application, making sure my name was on it. I placed it in my bag, and Lottie was waiting for me with my flannel pants, favorite grey Harvard sweatshirt, and a makeup wipe. I thanked her, taking the items and putting them on, swiping off my minimal makeup.</p><p>I finally toppled onto my bed weakly, falling into a deep sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.  </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL'S POV</p><p>As soon as I heard Fairy Godmother announce the fall musical Grease auditions, I became excited. I have always loved Broadway and singing, but I never had done anything on stage. I was in homeroom with Rapunzel, and she squealed when she heard, startling me. "Ariel! You have to do it! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" she yelled, bouncing in her seat.</p><p>I hushed her, giggling. "You have to!" she persisted. "You would so get the part!"</p><p>"The part of what?" I asked, confused.</p><p>"Sandy, of course!" she said obviously, waving her hands and her eyes widening.</p><p>"Oh, no no no, I can't be Sandy," I said quickly, blushing and shaking my head.</p><p>"Of course you can! Your voice is fantastic!" she encouraged, nodding.</p><p>"Thanks, but when have you heard my singing voice?"</p><p>"You don't remember? That's how I met you!"</p><p>"Oh yeah!" I said, dragging it out as I remembered. On my first day at the dorms freshman year, I had been taking a shower. I hadn't known anyone was in there, so I had been belting On My Own from Les Miserables. I came out of the shower at the same time as Rapunzel, who was in another stall thing.</p><p>"You have a beautiful voice!" she had complimented shyly, smiling.</p><p>I had blushed, taken aback that someone had been in the bathroom as well. I was thankful that I had walked out in a towel and not completely naked.  "Thank you," I replied shyly. "Are you a freshman too?"</p><p>"Yeah, I am. Sorry to scare you. I'm Rapunzel Corona," she explained. She held out a wrinkly-fingered hand and I shook it.</p><p>"I'm Ariel Atlantica," I responded.</p><p>"Nice to meet you!"</p><p>"You too." I put on some army green pants and black and white striped crop top under my towel. Rapunzel put on black leggings, a halter crop top, and a purple, pink, green, and white windbreaker. She suddenly unveiled her blonde hair from the gigantic shower cap and my jaw had dropped. Piles and piles of golden hair tumbled to the floor as she shook out her head.</p><p>"Oh. My. God," I stated, staring at her hair. "That is a lot of hair."</p><p>"Oh, yeah," She laughed bashfully.</p><p>"How is this possible?" I asked, still astounded.</p><p>"It used to have magic powers before I came here. Apparently the campus has a sort of force field that doesn't allow magic powers to be effective for safety reasons, I guess. It grew really fast and my fake mom never let me cut it," she told me, reaching for her brush.</p><p>I was confused at the mention of her 'fake' mom but didn't mention it. "Wow. Yeah, I used to be a mermaid," I said absently, strapping black sandal heels.</p><p>"What?" she yelled, letting go of her brush and leaving it hanging in her hair.</p><p>I laughed, stepping back. "Yeah."</p><p>"That is the coolest thing I have ever heard!" Rapunzel shouted, jumping up and down. I giggled at her enthusiasm.</p><p>"Thanks?" I said, brushing my hair too.</p><p>"You're welcome!" She continued to brush the yellow locks out. I began to blow dry my bright red hair, finishing in about 20 minutes, about the same time Rapunzel finished brushing her hair. She attempted to gather it all in a single braid, but it failed multiple times, earning frustrated grunts from her.</p><p>"Do you need help?" I asked, pinning my floppy bangs to stay up.</p><p>"Oh, um... Maybe?" I laughed and went to help. It was difficult to weave together such a massive amount of hair, but I finished the braid off nicely.</p><p>"Thank you so much!" she said, looking at it in the mirror and twirling.</p><p>"Of course." She put on a white hat and gathered her things. "Were you going to do anything after this?"</p><p>"Right now? No," I had replied, getting my stuff together as well.</p><p>"Do you want to come over to my dorm and maybe go for coffee? You can meet my friend Anna, I think she would love you."</p><p>"Sure! It is my coffee time right about now," I agreed.</p><p>"Great! Come on!" She had led me to her dorm, where I had met Anna. That day, I had found two of my closest friends that would stay with me for a long, long time.</p><p>As I came back into reality, Rapunzel was still saying, "I can see it now. You in the cutest little poodle skirt and your little ponytail..."</p><p>The bell rang, interrupting her and signaling the end of homeroom. "Bye Punz!" I called, walking out of the room and going to science. There, Miss Ursula dismally disclosed the information that we had to meet with our groups. I groaned at the thought of Vanessa, but felt comforted that Moana was also part of my group.</p><p>At the end of class, Vanessa sauntered up to me. "Meet in my dorm at 4:30. Sharp. And tell that new girl," she ordered, staring me down and then studying her slick black nails.</p><p>I glared at her. "Sorry, I can't. I have swim try-outs."</p><p>Vanessa glanced down at me, clicking her tongue. "Oh right. Those. As you know... my mother is also the coach of the swim team. Believe me, she would never let you on the team, especially after last year. "</p><p>I gaped at her, but tried to brush it off quickly. Last year, at the last swim meet of the season, I had become intimidated by Vanessa insulting me right before, and, my nerves getting the best of me, I lost the whole duel because of that. "I... We can meet tomorrow. That is, if you're not too busy, Your Highness," I said mockingly, turning away from her. However, that didn't seem to work as she smirked at me, seeming to like the nickname, and walked away. I sighed, my nerves increasing after her swim team threat. I couldn't let her manipulate my chances again. </p><p> </p><p>After going through the next three periods, I went to the cafeteria to grab my lunch. I grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and a Crush soda. I walked into the outdoor eating area and sat down at my friends' usual table. I attempted to withhold myself from gobbling it up, but I gave in and took a few bites. Soon, however, Anna bounded up to me. "Grease!" she yipped, plunking her backpack on the bench.</p><p>"Sorry?" I asked, taking a sip of soda.</p><p>"Grease! You have to do it!" she yelled, setting her pasta, chocolate bar, and Arnold Palmer down.</p><p>"Oh! Yeah!" I replied, taking another bite. "You should do it too, Anna!"</p><p>"Aw, shucks," she said, shrugging her shoulder and making a bashful wave. "I was thinking of going for Jan..."</p><p>"Yes, you totally should! Plus you get to eat a lot of food on stage."</p><p>Anna laughed. "Exactly. You can be Sandy, you'd be perfect."</p><p>"Thanks," I told her, putting my backpack on the floor. "I don't know if I'll do it, though. I've never done anything on stage before."</p><p>"Oh, come on Ariel! Just audition? Please?" Anna pleaded, awkwardly climbing to sit on the bench. She began to devour her spaghetti as Rapunzel approached us.</p><p>"Hi guys!" Rapunzel greeted, throwing her Greek salad and sparkling water on the table along with her backpack. She slid in next to Anna and Moana went to sit next to me, laying her rice bowl and 7-Up on the table.</p><p>"Hi," I responded, stealing an avocado slice from Moana's bowl.</p><p>"Hey!" she yelped, staring at me as I grinned, popping the piece in my mouth. In retaliation, she plucked a pepperoni from my slice of pizza and nibbled on it. I lightly whacked her shoulder as I chuckled. She laughed too as I went for a sip of my Crush.</p><p>"...auditioning for Jan," Anna had been saying to Rapunzel.</p><p>"Yes!" she reacted, taking a bite of cucumber. "You need to."</p><p>"Moana, you should try out!" I chimed suddenly.</p><p>"What? Oh, no, I don't think-"</p><p>"Aww, come on, why not? Please! I'll do it if you do it! We could be in Grease together! It would be so fun, help you get more comfortable in your new school," I persuaded, tugging on Moana's arm.</p><p>"I don't know, I..." she said uncertainly, trailing off.</p><p>"Please!"</p><p>"I'll think about it," she said, a small smile growing on her face to accompanying the blush. I could tell I was convincing her, but I didn't push it further. After all, the audition was a couple days away.</p><p>Rapunzel, Anna, Moana, and I babbled on throughout the rest of the lunch period. For the last two periods, I had math and my elective, choir. I bid goodbye to my friends as I walked to Mr. Skellington's classroom. I sighed as I sat in a chair near the back of the classroom, because I was not the best at math. If Mr. Skellington asked a question, I would be hidden.</p><p>As I took out my supplies, the teacher walked in, his long legs getting him across the room in about three strides. The bell rang, and one last student walked in. I looked up from writing down the homework, and gasped when I saw Eric walk in. He hadn't been in this class yesterday. I hid my head behind my book, peeking out when Mr. Skellington clapped his long hands to make an announcement.</p><p>"Children, settle down. Eric Caspian here is now in our class due to a schedule change, so are there any empty seats he can occupy?"</p><p>"Here!" Aurora declared, pointing at an empty seat next to her – and directly in front of me. I groaned, sinking down in my seat. Eric began to walk down my row. When he reached his seat, he flashed me a twinkling smile and gave a small wave. I returned them and went back to shrinking in my chair after Eric sat down.</p><p>"Attention, class. Today, as our first day of instruction, we're going to review your knowledge of algebra 1, which you need to know for this class, algebra 2. Right now, I will hand out a worksheet that reviews the standard skills you need." I sighed, knowing that I forgot all the stuff from algebra 1.</p><p>Eric turned around to face me and asked, "Could I borrow a pencil?"</p><p>I gulped and immediately handed him the pencil I held in my hand, saying timidly, "Sure."</p><p>He smiled at me, turning around after saying, "Thank you." I let out a breath I was holding once Eric's back was facing me. </p><p>I turned back to the worksheet that had been handed to me. I struggled through the problems but eventually finished right as Mr. Skellington said, "All right class, we have a few minutes left, so pass your papers up. It's okay if you don't remember everything, this sheet will not be a grade. I just want to see what everyone knows and what we need to review." I quickly gave my paper to Eric, making sure I had written my name at the top.</p><p>Soon after, the bell rang and I made my way to the door. "Oh, babe!" I heard a familiar voice sing as I entered the hall. Eric, in front of me, turned towards Vanessa's voice and was tackled with a hug. He looked surprised and uncomfortable, his arms not hugging her back. Vanessa pulled back and spouted, "Babe, you won't believe the day I've had. First, I ripped my favorite shirt. I chipped my nail polish that I just got done yesterday! And Drizella forgot to do my history homework. Then, Anastasia, the idiot, spilled maple syrup on me and I had to change. Then I stepped in the gutter and my shoes are all smelly! Plus that Ariel girl pissed me off. And now my phone is dying. Ugh, my day has been just dreadful! Cheer me up, Eric?"</p><p>He grinned miserably, stepping out of her grip. "Um, I would Vanessa but I have to get to PE. See you."</p><p>He abruptly left her standing in the empty hallways being jostled by other students. She stared sadly after him and so did I. I looked at her, almost feeling sorry for her as she looked at her apparently-chipped nails sorrowfully. All of a sudden she looked up at me. "What are you looking at?" she demanded, her stare sharp again.</p><p>"Sorry," I said, feeling wrong to bust in on her. I looked down quickly and began to make my way to choir class, Vanessa not far behind me. I hastily walked into the large room where students were already buzzing. I took the seat I had claimed yesterday in the second row. Miss Rose, the choir teacher, was at the front and chatting with Giselle.</p><p>When the bell rang, she announced, "Good afternoon, class! All right, before we begin, who is planning on auditioning for Grease?"</p><p>Most of the class, myself and Vanessa included, raised their hands. "Good, good!" Miss Rose said, clapping her hands. "I will be helping Mr. Scar with the casting, mostly based on the singing aspect. I expect all of you will be phenomenal, since you had to get through an audition to be here. If you want any help choosing a song or part to try out for, my door is always open. All right, without further ado, let us get on with class."</p><p>We all voted on a selection of songs to possibly sing for a performance or assembly. We knew we were going to sing the national anthem for the announcement of the student council positions, so we practiced that. We learned the beginning of Hallelujah and a couple people tested out some solo roles, myself included. However, the time passed quickly, and soon all of us were filing out of the classroom.</p><p>While most people went towards their dorm buildings, I headed towards the pools' locker rooms. I entered the room, almost empty. The only people that occupied it were Silvermist, Lady, Drizella, and Eliwony, who were all busy with changing into their bathing suits. I did do too, and as I was stuffing my bright red hair into a black swim cap matching with my black swimsuit, Jasmine entered my locker row and opened hers.</p><p>"Oh, hey, Jasmine," I greeted, surprised that she was going to try out for a team. She didn't strike me as the sport type. "I didn't know you were trying out."</p><p>"Yeah, I thought I'd give it a shot." She began changing into a revealing red one-piece. For try-outs, we were allowed to wear whatever one-piece we wanted, but if we got on the team we'd all have to wear the uniform.</p><p>"Great! I hope you make it!" I said truthfully, smiling at her.</p><p>"Thank you! I would wish you good luck, but you're going to get on." She was now trying to fit all her thick black hair into a swim cap and I could tell it was with difficulty.</p><p>"Thank you," I said gratefully.</p><p>We followed the crowd to the main pool where Coach Ursula was waiting, sucking on her teeth and examining her clipboard. "All right, children. Line up in alphabetical order," she said. She listed off the names of the people trying out, Jasmine and I being first. Jasmine widened her eyes at me as she stepped into the first spot, me right next to her. All of my sisters, excluding Adella, who was on the dance team, were behind me.</p><p>"I'm going to be testing you on each type of swimming, including diving. We will be doing freestyle, the breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. Then we will do forward, backward, inverse, and inward dives. You'll go in groups. I will be choosing about 20 members," Ursula announced.</p><p>I was growing more and more nervous, knowing that my nerves often got the best of me when it came to anything, especially swimming. Vanessa was standing next to her mother dominantly, but it was hard to take her seriously in a white bathrobe and navy swim cap. Ursula split us into groups by last name, leaving me with my sisters, Jasmine, and Arthur Camelot. We got in the water and luckily, it was cold. I found that I swam better in cold water because it reminded me of the ocean.</p><p>On her whistle, I pushed off the wall and began swimming a 50 meter freestyle as fast as I could, propelling myself forcefully through the water with my powerful arms. I flipped in the water as I neared the wall and pushed off again. I finally reached the wall, out of breath, and slid off my goggles.</p><p>"29.45 seconds!" Lady, who was timing me, declared. I looked around, and in the other lanes everyone else was just coming up or still swimming. I allowed myself a small grin, knowing that I had a good start already. Everyone else got pretty good times as well, mostly because all of my sisters were natural swimmers as well. I heard that Jasmine got 33.65, which was good for a newcomer. The other groups went, and then we went through the rest of the types of strokes. I did well on the breaststroke, and okay on the others. Jasmine did particularly good on the backstroke.</p><p>When we arrived at the dives, I was getting tired and my adrenaline was wearing off. We went through all the dives in alphabetical order, so I was behind Andrina, Alana, and Aquata. Jasmine was in front, though, and she looked terrified. It suddenly dawned on me that she didn't know a single dive. Without thinking, I hurriedly raised my hand.</p><p>"What is it, Ariel?" Ursula droned.</p><p>"Um, sorry, but could I switch spots with Jasmine? She's new to swimming so..." I asked timidly, twiddling my fingers.</p><p>The coach glared at me, but finally said, "Fine. Hurry up." Jasmine shot me a grateful look as we quickly took each other's spots in line. But soon, I realized what I had done. My nerves kicked in again, the butterflies in my stomach going wild, my legs shaking. I did a fine forward dive, but when it was time for a backward dive, the shaking of my limbs were out of control. Last season, I had practically done a back-flop in the water, learning us a loss.</p><p>I climbed up the ladder slowly, preparing to do a back dive tuck. I tried not to psych myself out, knowing that that slip up last year was a one time thing all caused by Vanessa. Still, I felt like I could not breathe as I neared the edge of the board. Facing backwards, catching a glimpse of my sisters' encouraging and slightly worried faces.</p><p>I began bouncing on the board, gaining momentum. Once I was ready to jump, I felt my wet feet slip out from under me. In what seemed like slow motion, my tailbone hit the board and I flopped into the water, barely gaining enough time to take a breath before being submerged in the water. Trying to figure out the way to the surface, I swam frantically, still confused of what had happened.</p><p>When I was getting out of the pool, I could hear Vanessa snorting and chortling away. I could feel my face burning and tears beginning to sting my eyes. Since I failed on this dive twice in a row, Ursula will surely not let me on the team again. I looked at her, and she was watching me, smirking.</p><p>"Um," I said, voice wavering as I tried not to cry. "Could I try again?"</p><p>"Fine," she said, glaring at me.</p><p>I nervously walked back to the ladder. "You've got this, Ari," Andrina whispered to me. I nodded, taking a deep breath and shaking out my arms and legs.</p><p>I scrambled up the ladder and walked down the board, approaching the edge. When I turned around, the five of my sisters and Jasmine all made themselves seen with a smile. I flashed a nervous grin back at them and began springing up and down. Finally, I leaped off the board, gaining a large amount of air. I brought my limbs in to my chest, leaning back, and then exploded my arms and legs to extend, diving beautifully into the water.</p><p>When I emerged from the water, my friends and sisters were cheering, and I could help but smile to myself. Vanessa was staring daggers at me, and I smiled even more. The line went through itself three more times, me doing mediocre on the remaining two dives.</p><p>Once we were all done, Ursula went through the list of people who had made the team. "Jasmine Agrabah-" I happily congratulated a stunned Jasmine, hugging her. "Andrina Atlantica, Alana Atlantica, Aquata Atlantica, Ariel Atlantica, Attina Atlantica, Arista Atlantica," she continued. All of my sisters and I got on the team! I smiled and hugged them, glancing at Vanessa and Ursula who both glared at me. Ursula finished off the list, saying, "Arthur Camelot, Lady Dear, Berlioz O'Malley, Kuzco Groove, David Kawena, Nani Pelekai, Vanessa Sea, Milo Thatch, Silvermist Waters, and Nick Wilde." Everyone rejoiced and congratulated each other, not too many not getting on.</p><p>"We will have an exam tomorrow to determine captain and co-captians," the coach informed us. Vanessa raised a challenging eyebrow at me.</p><p>All of us girls walked back to our locker room, peeling off our swim caps. I just changed back into my denim jump suit, meaning to shower the chlorine off of me back at the dorms. Jasmine and I walked off campus together after she showered, but she went to the library to finish homework.</p><p>I tiredly entered my dorm room, met with Moana, Punz, and Anna all lounging about. Anna and Moana were arguing over the show to watch on television and Rapunzel was humming while pasting some pictures in her art journal.</p><p>"Ariel!" Moana declared happily, stopping her fighting with Anna. "Did you get on the team?"</p><p>"I did!" I announced, grinning widely. Moana ran to give me a bone-crushing hug, congratulating me. The other girls applauded me, and although it was about 5:15, I grabbed some pajamas to change into after showering. I walked to the showers, rinsing off quickly. I put the striped pajama shorts on with a matching shirt, putting on my slippers and making my way back to my room.</p><p>On the way, I ran into Jane and Belle, who looked a bit anxious and excited. "Ariel! Did you get in?" the cousins asked, holding their breaths.</p><p>"Yes!" I cried happily, waving my hands.</p><p>"Yay!" the two yelled. We chatted for a bit and then the two went off to the bookstore, me continuing on to my room.</p><p>When I arrived, I announced to my roommates, "I have homework to do still. And I have to choose a song for the Grease audition."</p><p>Anna gasped. "You're doing it?"</p><p>"Yes..." I answered, unaware of what I had just done.</p><p>The others got excited all over again, fawning all over me and suggesting song options. "I mean, 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' is the most classic Sandy song, you basically have to do it," Anna said.</p><p>Rapunzel argued, "But what about 'Sandra Dee' the reprise! It's singing and has acting! It's the whole shebang!"</p><p>"Yeah..." I said, considering the options. "Wait, Moana, are you going to audition?"</p><p>"Well... I guess I will," she replied slowly.</p><p>"Yay! What are you going for?"</p><p>"Um...."</p><p>I gasped, exclaiming, "Rizzo! You should go for Rizzo!"</p><p>Moana rubbed her arm, saying, "I don't know if I can be that mean." I laughed.</p><p>"Try. And, Anna, I will do Hopelessly Devoted to You." Then I hurriedly got started on my homework, humming my new audition song as I smiled to myself at my day. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Wow this is a long chapter! With two long POV's! Moana and Punz got on the dance team. Tiana's going for president, but can she make it? And Naveen's really a jerk, but Tiana really showed him!! The school musical's coming up, but will Ariel get the part of Sandy? Eric's in her math class, but Vanessa's being a real pain in the neck. At least Ariel got on on the swim team, even after messing up. But will she get captain? Will I ever stop asking these dramatic questions?</p><p>Do you guys like long chapters or short ones? Do you like long POV's or short? I must knowww.</p><p>Question of the chapter: Do you have a Disney character crush? Who?</p><p>My Answer: Um, yes, of course. Peter Pan, Flynn Rider, Hercules, Tiana, Philip, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Jasmine, and like everyone because they're all so beautiful and kindhearted and amazing. Hahaha</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ERIC'S POV</p><p>At 6:50 am, Kristoff's alarm went off, abruptly waking me from my dream. "Oh, turn it off, will you?" Dmitri muttered, rubbing his face and eyes. Kristoff was the only one who actually set an alarm, but Dmitri and I used it to wake up too.</p><p>I groaned, opening my eyes slowly. All of a sudden I sat up, remembering that it was audition day for Grease. "Woah, you okay?" Kristoff chuckled, beginning to sloppily make his bed.</p><p>"It's audition day!" I explained, hopping out of bed and putting on my slippers. In only my boxers and grey t-shirt, I grabbed some clothes and shower products, hurrying down the hall to take a quick shower. After doing so, I walked out of the shower to put on my outfit. I had specifically chosen dark jeans, a tight white t-shirt, a leather jacket, and black Converse to match Danny Zuko's typical getup, the part I was auditioning for.</p><p>I had drama as an elective, and the day of the musical being announced, Mr. Scar had told me that I should try since I looked a lot like the male lead and could sing. Vanessa, my current girlfriend, had also begged me to try out, for she was auditioning for Sandy and she wanted to show off her relationship on stage. However, I had heard Ariel was also auditioning for the lead.</p><p>When I arrived back at my dorm, Dmitri was only just dragging himself out of bed, Kristoff combing his hair. Once he was done, I occupied the bathroom to do my hair as well. With my black hair still wet, I used mountains of gel and a comb to shape it into a casual imitation of a Zuko style. As I walked back out, Dmitri said, "Who are you, John Travolta?"</p><p>I grinned. "Yes, I am. Thanks!" Dmitri squinted at me, eventually looking away and dragging his hand down his face again, dismissing me with a wave. He sleepily attempted pulled on pants as I grabbed my navy backpack, barely remembering to grab my history homework. I walked out of the room, waving goodbye to Kristoff and Dmitri, who had given up trying to put on shoes.</p><p>I walked down the stairs towards the cafeteria, meaning to grab a quick to-go breakfast to eat on the way to school. Also, I didn't want to sit down with my friends because Vanessa often came up to me, clinging onto me obnoxiously and trying to show off.</p><p>As I walked into the cafeteria at around 7:30, I heard someone shout, "Hey Eric!" I looked over to see Flynn waving from a table, accompanied by Tarzan, Jim, and Robin. I hesitantly made my way over to them.</p><p>"Oi, what happened to you?" Robin asked, elbowing me as I reached their table.</p><p>"Um... Just trying something new, I guess," I lied, not wanting to reveal that I was auditioning for a musical to some of my coolest friends in the school.</p><p>"Hm," Robin grunted, going back to his feast of pancakes, a muffin, and French toast.</p><p>"Listen guys, I'd really love to stay, but I've got to go. I'm just going to grab something and go," I said, pointing my thumb back at the food counters.</p><p>"All right, but you'd better go quick if you want to make it out alive," Flynn said, nodding to the one of the entrances of the cafeteria. I looked back and saw Vanessa entering, surveying the scene and skirted by the Tremaine sisters.</p><p>"Thanks," I said quickly to Flynn, going to snatch an apple. I watched Vanessa as she went to the beverage section, which was thankfully at the end of the room. I kept close to the wall, blending in to the rest of the students and eventually reaching to door to the outside. Breathing a sigh of relief, I bit into the apple as I walked down the path towards school.</p><p>When I entered the campus, it was starting to buzz with social activity, people walking to homeroom, getting items from their lockers, and talking to friends. I walked to my locker, finishing my breakfast, and saw Ariel just finishing up with her locker and its contents. I noticed that she had a new kind of outfit today: a red skit, white top, and a white scarf-thing around her perfect red ponytail. When she slammed the locker door closed and turned to leave, I said, "Hey, Ariel."</p><p>She stopped, looking surprised and terrified. Her deep blue eyes were wide. "H-hi, Eric," she responded shyly, looking down.</p><p>"Are you auditioning for Grease today?" I inquired.</p><p>"Yeah, I... I'm going for Sandy," she admitted, fluttering her eyelashes up at me.</p><p>"Oh, that's great! I'm going for Danny. Well, good luck! See you then!" I said, giving her a warm smile and a brief pat on the shoulder. I arrived at my locker, only a couple of steps away, and got out my English notebook and Spanish supplies. </p><p> </p><p>At lunch time, I was putting away my science <br/>objects when a pair of arms snaked around my chest. I shivered, but not in a good way, and turned to face Vanessa. She smirked at me. "Hi, babe," she said, and went in for a kiss with her berry-colored lips. But I dodged it by turning my face, her mouth landing on my cheek. When she drew back, frowning, I swiftly wiped my cheek off.</p><p>She drew me close again, and as I expected another kiss, I turned my head. However, she said in a low sharp voice, "Look, I know you don't like this, Eric. But please, try to play along with me." I pulled back, not meeting her eyes, and nodding a little. She had a pleading look on her face, her violet eyes trying to meet mine.</p><p>"Eat lunch with me?" she asked in her normal nasally voice, holding out her hand. I looked past her, and at that moment, Ariel walked happily down the hall, surrounded by her friends. "Eric?" Vanessa's voice asked, bringing my eyes back to her.</p><p>"Yeah," I breathed eventually. "Sure. Let's go eat."</p><p>She took my hand and began leading me away from my locker, but curiously not towards the cafeteria. "Where are we going?" I questioned as I wistfully watched Ariel disappear into the eating area.</p><p>"The diner," she responded simply, not looking at me. She continued to forcefully pull me out of the school. I looked at my watch.</p><p>"We only have 25 minutes. Do you think we can make it in time?" I told her cautiously.</p><p>"Oh, we'll be fine. Just eat quick." We arrived at Daisy's Diner in only a few minutes, sitting immediately at a table for two. Mostly staff members sat in chairs, but a few students were there. We were allowed to leave school for lunch if we stayed within 5 minutes away. Also, we had to be back 5 minutes before lunch was over.</p><p>A waitress came up to us, beckoned by Vanessa's demanding snapping. "What can I get you?" she asked, whipping the pen from behind her ear out.</p><p>"Get me a water and a Caesar salad. And be quick about it," Vanessa ordered.</p><p>"I'll have a Sprite and a cheeseburger," I said, smiling at her. She recorded the requests and walked away to the kitchen.</p><p>"So...Why are we here? Why aren't you eating with your friends?" I asked.</p><p>Vanessa looked at her lap. "I just wanted...to talk, I guess." I was taken aback. She never wanted to talk. In all my time of dating her, it was always her complaining or gossiping whenever we "talked."</p><p>"Oh? What about?" I questioned when we obtained our drinks.</p><p>"Um... I don't know. I mean, I got on the swim team," she announced, taking a small sip of her water.</p><p>"What a surprise," I responded sarcastically.</p><p>"What do you mean?" she asked, a hint of hurt lined in her voice.</p><p>I sighed. "Well, it's not like you weren't going to get onto the team. Your mom is the coach, for Christ's sake!"</p><p>Vanessa stared, seeming deadened, at some spot on the table. "I got the second best time on the back stroke," she told me quietly. "But Mickey told me this morning that I have to choose between dance team and swim team, since I got on both. I can't have two PE sports. But I don't want to choose. I worked really hard to get on the dance team but my mom won't let me."</p><p>But before I could respond, my burger landed in front of me and Vanessa's salad did so too. "Why is there chicken on this?" she demanded to the server in a loud voice, pointing accusingly at the plate in front of her.</p><p>"Um, you said Caesar salad, and on the menu it says there's chicken on it..." the waitress said nervously, flinching at Vanessa's shrieking.</p><p>"I'm a vegetarian! Chicken makes you fat! I said no chicken!" she yelled wildly, her angry eyes staring down the shrinking girl.</p><p>"Vanessa, you didn't say that," I interfered, holding my hand out to calm her down.</p><p>She growled at me and just said to the waitress, "Take it back and make it right." The girl hurriedly swiped the salad away and returned with it chicken-less.</p><p>"What is your problem," I said under my breath as I took another bite.</p><p>"What?" Vanessa said.</p><p>"Nothing." There was a silence as we ate.</p><p>"Are you still auditioning today?" she asked suddenly, halfway through her meal while I had only taken a couple bites.</p><p>"Um, yes," I said obviously, motioning to my hair and outfit. "Why would I be dressed up like this?"</p><p>"I don't know, I thought it was just trying something new with your hair. It looks cool. A little greasy, though."</p><p>"That's the name of the musical." Another pause. "Are you still auditioning?"</p><p>Vanessa sighed. "I don't know. I mean, what's the point? I know someone like Cinderella or Aurora is going to get Sandy, so why even try?"</p><p>"What?" I asked forcefully, putting down my drink. "You're one of the main reasons I'm auditioning for Danny!" My mind, although, drifted to Ariel.</p><p>"Fine. I'll do it. But I won't get the part," she muttered, finishing her salad.</p><p>"Well if you think like that you never will," I said matter-of-factly, eating the last half of my meal.</p><p>The bill came and Vanessa said, "Don't give her a big tip, she doesn't deserve it." I shook my head at her, dragging the bill towards me.</p><p>After I finished my food, I said, "Do you ever, like, try?"</p><p>"What?" she asked, bewildered.</p><p>"I mean, you never try in school work. You don't try to make friends, you don't try with this relationship, you're not trying with the musical. Do you think that's fine? Because it never benefits anyone but yourself," I ranted, putting down my napkin and paying the bill, making sure to give a large tip.</p><p>There was a painful silence. Right as I began to regret my words by the girl's crushed face, she got up and murmured, "We have to get back." She got her purse and sadly stalked out of the restaurant.</p><p>"Nessa!" I called as she walked out the door. She continued to run down the sidewalk in her heels, and I remained outside of the restaurant in defeat.</p><p>Eventually, I made my way back to school, just in time before they closed the entrances. I then went to my locker to get my backpack and math book. As the bell rang and I began to make my way to fifth period, the one with Ariel in it. I saw Vanessa exit the bathroom, wiping her mouth and eyes and looking pale. She spotted me but then moved on, disappearing into the crowd of students.</p><p>I walked in to Mr. Skellington's classroom and sat in my seat, Ariel not being there yet. When she walked in, I said, "Hi, Ariel," quite cheerily. She grinned at me and returned the greeting, sitting in her seat behind me.</p><p>At the end of fifth period, I walked outside to go to my PE period, avoiding eye contact with Vanessa who I passed. I spent my last period talking with Naveen and playing a game of basketball with my friends.  </p><p> </p><p>At the end of the day, I began to make my way to the stage. I walked in, many seats already occupied. "For everyone who just came in, please come to our table to sign up!" Mrs. Rose, the choir teacher, called. I went over to the table that she and Scar were sitting at, printing my name under the section of Danny Zuko. At a glance, I could tell only a couple of other people were going for the part. Ariel's name caught my eye under Sandy's section, and my heart skipped. I looked up, trying to spot her, but she was busy talking with Moana, Jasmine, Anna, and her sisters.</p><p>I took a random seat, mostly isolated. I saw Vanessa walk in and sign up, but she barely looked at me and went to sit with Drizella and Anastasia.</p><p>"All right students, welcome to the fall musical Grease auditions!" Mrs. Rose announced. I looked to the table and a small round applause went around. "We will go by section, with the main parts first. Because there are almost no students signed up for many secondary parts, it is very likely that if you do not get a lead, you will be cast in a secondary role. First, we have for the role of Betty Rizzo, Drizella Tremaine."</p><p>Drizella walked up to the stage, introduced herself, and began to sing "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" quite horribly. She was then given a script and then loudly read off lines in response to Fawn, who was the line reader helping the teachers.</p><p>Next were Moana and Jasmine, who were both extremely better than their opponent. Moana, actually, was surprisingly good, and I knew I wasn't the only one who thought so.</p><p>Next was the role of Sandy. First, Cinderella, Snow, Arista, Andrina, and Anastasia went up, who were all all right. However, once Vanessa stamped up the stage, everyone was holding their breath. She began singing "Those Summer Nights" considerably well, except the last note was a little out of her range. When she finished reading her lines, I tried to catch her eye, but she simply flipped her hair and stalked off stage.</p><p>The last two were Aurora and Ariel. Aurora looked perfect for the role, and she had a great line reading and pretty good singing voice. But I paid much more attention when Ariel wobbled onto stage. Her hands were twisting around and when she said what song she was singing, her voice shook. I could tell she was extremely nervous.</p><p>But when she started singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You," my breathing stopped. It took a while for her to warm up to the audience, but when she got to the chorus, her voice was powerful. And beautiful. I stared, entranced, as she sang the lyrics, spreading out her arms and closing her eyes. When she ended the song, I felt like the whole room was filled with an awestruck silence. She finished her line readings perfectly and then walked off the stage, her friends congratulating her endlessly.</p><p>"Thank you. Next, we have Eric Caspian for the role of Danny Zuko." I stood, snapping out of my trance, and walked to the stairs leading to the stage. When I took my place, I found Ariel in the audience and she gave me a timid wave. I smiled at her.</p><p>"I'm Eric Caspian for the part of Danny Zuko and I will be singing 'Greased Lightnin','" I stated cooly, my hands in my pockets.</p><p>"Okay. Actually, while you do that, could I get Tramp Roberts, Henry Charming, Jim Hawkins, Terence Dust, Milo Thatch, and Philip Hubert up there? For ensemble and side male characters, this was the song you were supposed to learn, so could you audition right now by accompanying Mr. Caspian?" Mrs. Rose asked, inviting the ensemble members up with me.</p><p>A bunch of boys ran up to the stage to join me and the instrumental started playing after I began, "Why this car is automatic."</p><p>We ran through the whole song like it was already prepared and I felt a rush of excitement when we all sang the last note, me even doing an air-guitar.</p><p>There were a few claps from the audience, very enthusiastic ones from Ariel. From there, me and all my accompaniment read our lines and I thought it went quite smoothly. I sat down again, whizzing through the rest of the auditions quite confidently.</p><p>I had a good feeling about this. </p><p> </p><p>MULAN'S POV</p><p>At 5:30 am, a soft harp alarm sounded from Kida's phone, waking all three of us up. She quickly shut it off and rose from her bed along with Pocahontas. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes again, zen meditation music following soon after. It was calming as my roommates began their morning meditation and yoga, and the sounds rocked me back to sleep. </p><p>"Mulan," I heard Kida say from far away. "Mulan!" My eyes snapped open and Kida sighed, both she and Poca above me. "Oh, thank the gods, we thought you were dead. We've been calling you for five minutes."</p><p>"What time is it?" I asked, groggily, rubbing my eyes and sitting up as the two got off my bed.</p><p>"6:58," Pocahontas answered, brushing her hair.</p><p>"What?" I exclaimed. "I was supposed to wake up 20 minutes ago!"</p><p>"That's why we thought you were dead," Kida said calmly, putting in her multiple piercings.</p><p>I ripped the covers off of me and bolted down to the showers, washing my body quickly and putting my hair in a bun. Brushing my teeth hurriedly, hopped as I put on dark grey Calvin Klein joggers, which I had actually got in the men's section. I slipped on a ragged cropped tee over my CK sports bra. I had a churning nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, thinking it was because I was positive that the football team list would come out today.  As I was putting on my CK sneakers and jumping down the hall, I realized that I often bought a lot of Calvin Klein clothing, and my friends had caught on and got me things for birthdays and holidays as well. I arrived back in the room, where my roommates were waiting for me.</p><p>"That was fast," Pocahontas commented.</p><p>"Thanks," I breathed, latching on my watch. I grabbed my backpack and joined my friends who were ready at the door. After locking it behind us, we walked down the hall and took 3 flights of stairs down to the cafeteria. It was 7:18, and we went to get some to-go breakfasts because we usually arrived at school at 7:30. I grabbed a cup of porridge, Pocahontas got a kale smoothie, and Kida got a chocolate croissant.</p><p>As we walked to the school, Kida asked, "You haven't gotten the football team list, right?"</p><p>"No," I responded nervously. "No, we haven't. But I think it's going to be today. It's Friday, after all, and try-outs were on Tuesday. Coach said it'd be just a few days."</p><p>We arrived at the building, but I left Kida and Pocahontas to go to their lockers as I went to the gym to check if the list was up. My heart almost jumped to my throat as I saw a crowd of boys celebrating around the bulletin board.</p><p>I took a deep breath, puffing out my chest, and sauntered over to the board. When I approached them, the chattering died down a bit and people, including Gaston and Adam, began staring at me. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I pushed it down and balled my fists. A path was cleared for me, and the talking was completely gone by now. Edward and Jim, who were at try-outs, walked off, scowling at me.</p><p>I slowly walked down the aisle, nearing the paper that was titled "Walt E. Disney High Football Team." At the moment, I instantly remembered that I had forgotten my reading glasses, and I would not be able to see the letters unless I was about 6 inches away from the page. Nerves were crawling around my stomach as I neared the paper, closer and closer. I heard some people snigger, and eventually I got close enough to read the names.</p><p>Walt E. Disney High Football Team</p><p>Team Captain, Quarterback: Olympus, Hercules</p><p>Center: White, Gaston</p><p>Running Back: Fa, Mulan</p><p>Fullback: Li, Shang</p><p>Wide Recievers: Ali, Aladdin. Roberts, Tramp.</p><p>Tight End: Kerchak, Tarzan</p><p>Left and Right Guard: de Châteaupers, Phoebus.</p><p>Left and Right Tackle: Smith, John.</p><p>Defensive Tackle: Beast, Adam</p><p>Defensive End: O'Malley, Toulouse.</p><p>Linebackers: Weaver, Simba. Maldonia, Naveen.</p><p>Safety: Caspian, Eric</p><p>Cornerback: Isles, Hans.</p><p>I gasped and read my name again. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up. "Congratulations, Mulan," Shang said, looking down at me with warm eyes. I smiled.</p><p>"Thanks!" I began to make my way back, towards my locker. The path was still there, and as I walked down it again, Hercules held his hand up. I gave him a happy high five but the rest of the boys mostly scowled at me. Shang and Herc flanked me until we were out of sight of the crew of now football players.</p><p>"Great job, Mulan," Herc said finally. He held out his hand and I shook it proudly.</p><p>"Thank you," I said sincerely. "I won't let you down."</p><p>Hercules bent down a bit, saying in a low voice, "Gaston and Adam are not going to take this well, so if they give you any trouble at all, just tell me. Okay?"</p><p>I nodded, but looked at his jewel-blue eyes and assured him, "I'll be fine. Thanks."</p><p>Hercules drew back, still looking wary. He put a hand on my shoulder, nodding, and Shang patted my back, both of them walking away.</p><p>I took a deep breath and then suddenly let out an excited squeal, dancing around in my own little circle. When I had calmed down, Tiana and Tiger showed up beside me. "Mulan! What's the little celebration for?" Tiger asked, chuckling at me.</p><p>"Did you get on the football team?" Tiana inquired in anticipation, always remembering everyone's events. I noticed that she had some circles under her eyes and her hair was in a frizzy ponytail.</p><p>"I did!" I told them joyously, jumping up and down. They celebrated with me, Tiger hugging my tightly.</p><p>"I knew you could, honey," Tiana said, smiling at me.</p><p>We all went to my and Tiger's locker, ending up at Dr. Frollo's homeroom, who we all had. There, we met up with most of our friends, including Pocahontas, Kida, Jasmine, Esmeralda, Anya, and Nani. "Today all the student council eligible people are announced," Tiana told us all as she put her green binder specifically behind her matching folder.</p><p>"Really?" I asked. "You're definitely going to be fine, Tia."</p><p>She smiled as the others agreed. "Thank you."</p><p>Soon enough, the microphone crackled. "Good morning, students! Happy Friday! First of all, today is the fall musical Grease auditions! Be sure to audition with a song of your preferred part when you come to the big stage after school! Good luck! Next, we have the student council nominees! I will read the names of those eligible for your vote. For historian, we have... Milo Thatch. And that's it!"</p><p>People chuckled. "For social activites," Godmother continued, "we have Cinderella Tremaine and Anna Arendelle. For head secretary, we have Quasimodo Frollo, Rosetta Gardener, and Anastasia Tremaine. For treasurer, there is Charlotte LaBouff, Henry Charming, and Berlioz O'Malley. For vice president we have...Jane Porter, Kuzco Groove, Lady Dear, and Hans Isles. Finally, for president... Vanessa Sea, Snow White, Arthur Camelot, and Tiana Orleans."</p><p>All of us cheered for Tiana, who as modest as always. "Speeches from the candidates will be said on Wednesday, September 13. There, at the assembly, ballots will be filled out and you will have your new student council representatives on Friday, a week from today!"</p><p>We began talking about Tiana's campaign, and possible slogans and methods. However, Frollo, as always, shushed us, and Jasmine snapped, "Are you not even happy that your son was nominated?"</p><p>Frollo looked up. "For secretary? That is a woman's job. Fortunately, he will not win," he said cruelly, glaring at Jasmine, who returned it. He attempted to go back to his grading, but we were not having it.</p><p>"Are you kidding?" I demanded. "How is that a woman's job?"</p><p>"Exactly!" Tiana chimed. "Times have changed, Dr. Frollo."</p><p>Frollo scowled. "I believe I know where a woman's place is, young ladies. In the Bible, it-"</p><p>"Those times were different. And what do you know, you're a straight white old man! The world has changed, and women are not just housewives anymore," Jasmine retorted. </p><p>"Quiet!" Frollo shouted, fire in his eyes. Jasmine started to open her mouth again, but Frollo said, "Do you all want detention? Or shall we continue this argument?" Jasmine closed her mouth reluctantly, but we all gave him a death glare. </p><p> </p><p>At lunch, I had to run to the dormitories to get my reading glasses, after having my friends read most of my books and notes to me in a whisper, and I felt extremely bad. So, I ate my chicken wrap as I jogged up to my dorm room. Quickly opening it, I dodged in and grabbed them on top of my desk. I slipped the circular glasses onto my nose just to make sure I had them, and then walked out of the room, down the hall and out the lobby. I arrived back at the school, still with plenty of time left. The halls were completely empty, and I went to my locker to switch textbooks.</p><p>While I was busy at my locker, I heard someone behind me. I didn't turn around, just thinking it was my imagination. However, I heard breathing grow closer and I finally turned around, expecting a friend or something. However, I was suddenly slammed against the row of lockers forcefully. I banged my head hard, the breath knocked out of me. </p><p>I recognized Gaston's snarling face, pushing against my collarbone. "Gaston..." I gasped, attempting to push him off of me. "What are you doing?"</p><p>"Listen up, cupcake," he growled, garlic-y breath blasting in my face. "I don't know how you got on this football team. It's for men, which you aren't. You won't last one minute."</p><p>I kicked at him, successfully knocking his torso. He grunted, grimacing. "You think you're so tough. Well, one wrong move, girl, and you will be off the team so fast-" I had kept on kicking, and ended up hitting the jackpot: right between his legs.</p><p>Gaston let out a short squeak, letting go of me instantaneously. He put his hands over his area protectively, and I slammed my locker and bolted to the cafeteria.</p><p>"Honey, where were you? What happened?" Tiana asked concernedly at our table outside.</p><p>I sat down, still gasping to regain my oxygen. "Getting my reading glasses," I explained.</p><p>"Your collarbone is bruising," Pocahontas said worriedly.</p><p>I looked down, not being able to see it, but could feel it hurting. "Oh... I, uh, accidentally... punched myself?" I hadn't meant to end the sentence like a question, but I don't think anyone noticed. People laughed at my supposed clumsiness, but I don't think Tia, Poca, or Kida believed me.</p><p>I got through fifth period all right, but I was extremely nervous when it came to last period, which was when I had football.</p><p>We didn't do any games, just sizing for uniforms (I had to get an extra small) and obstacle courses. My nerves were rattling my legs, so I failed at most of the courses, earning loud chortles. The rage was burning up inside me, but I kept it in, not wanting to push any buttons and cause Gaston to tattle on me. He was watching me the whole time, and I knew it'd only be a matter of weeks before he began trouble. </p><p> </p><p>As I walking away from my locker after school, I saw Gaston and his cronies pass by me. Suddenly he stuck his gigantic foot in front of my legs and I toppled over them, barely saving my face and glasses from being crushed with my arms. My backpack skidded a few feet from me and my wrists were burning in pain. I cried out, bringing my wrists to me and I saw Gaston walking away, chuckling.</p><p>"Are you okay?" a sweet voice asked, startling me from cursing out Gaston in my mind. I looked to the person in front of me. There was Giselle Andalasia, on her knees in her mint jeans, a concerned look on her face. I stared at her, entranced in her sapphire blue eyes. I could feel myself gaping and I quickly closed my mouth.</p><p>"Yeah. Yes. I'm fine, thanks." My wrists were saying otherwise, but I didn't mention it in front of her.</p><p>"That was very mean of him," Giselle said firmly, her eyebrows furrowing.</p><p>"Yeah, but I'm getting used to it. I'm tough," I replied, still clutching my wrists. Why did I say that?</p><p>The girl's eyes widened. "Well, you should've – I don't know... yelled at him or something!" she gasped with excitement. "Maybe I should yell at him! I don't do that often..."</p><p>I chuckled nervously. "Really, it's okay."</p><p>"Here," she said, handing me my backpack. Trying to ignore the pain best I could, I took it, smiling.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>"You're sure you're okay?" she asked again, still worried.</p><p>I felt myself getting warmer, and my cheeks burned up even more. "Yes. Thank you, Giselle."</p><p>We both stood up, her ginger hair falling gracefully around her shoulders. "Mulan, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Well, goodbye Mulan!"</p><p>She began to skip down the hall, waving merrily. "Bye," I murmured, sad to see her go. I stood there alone in the halls, staring at her until a loud voice startled me.</p><p>"What happened to you?" Merida asked in her strong accent.</p><p>"Oh, um, I tripped and fell," I told her, massaging my wrist but stopping when it hurt worse.</p><p>"And what, did you fall in love with the floor?" she questioned. I assumed the blush and stupid smile was still on my face.</p><p>"Not exactly," I answered wistfully.</p><p>Merida rolled her eyes. "Weirdo," she said, nudging me. However, it caused me hand to painfully press against the injured wrist, making me yelp.</p><p>"What happened?" Merida asked, looking at me.</p><p>"I think I hurt my wrist." I held it closer to me and studied it.</p><p>"Oh, boy. Well, should we go to the doctor?"</p><p>"Okay..." I said, trailing off and following Merida to the medical building. Once we were outside, I asked her, "Do you know Giselle?"</p><p>Merida looked at me. "The one who talks to birds."</p><p>"Does she?"</p><p>"Oh, ya. She thinks she can talk to animals and 'summon' them. She's a bit crazy, I think."</p><p>"Well..." I said quietly.</p><p>"Oh my god," Merida stated, stopping in her tracks. "You didn't fall in love with the floor, you fell in love with Giselle! Really?"</p><p>"Oh, come one, I'm not in love. I just... I'm suddenly struck with how pretty and sweet she is."</p><p>Merida scoffed and smirked at me. We continued to walk in silence and I could see Merida contemplating something.</p><p>"Too bad she has a boyfriend," she piped musingly.</p><p>I pictured Edward Lockhart, one of the loudest and most theatrical people I've ever seen. "Is he not gay?" I asked, a confused look on my face. "He's almost more flamboyant than Kuzco, and that's saying something."</p><p>Merida snorted. "Well, maybe there is some hope for you after all. But the question is, is Giselle a little bit gay?"</p><p>I went quiet. Suddenly, I proclaimed, "Oh no, I look so bad today! Do I look like trash?"</p><p>"I mean, did you have ten minutes to get ready? Because that's understandable."</p><p>"Twenty," I grumbled, looking down.</p><p>"Wow, even I can do better that that in twenty minutes," Merida commented, looking me up and down.</p><p>"Hey!" I shoved her, immediately saying "ow" afterwards. She started laughing. </p><p> </p><p>When we walked out of the doctor, I emerged with two fractured wrists in bandages and ice. "How am I supposed to play football with these! I'm off the team for sure! Gaston said-" I began to wail, but then stopped myself. "I mean... I can't play football now."</p><p>Merida looked at me strangely, but then said, "Relax, the doctor said it'd heal in a couple days. Plus, you have the weekend. It'll be fine."</p><p>"And I have homework!" I added.</p><p>"I'm sorry, but I'm not writing your homework for you."</p><p>"Oh, phooey. Kida'll probably willing. Or Judy." We returned to Merida's dorm room, where I elevated my wrists but also managed to find Giselle's Instagram. Merida smirked at me as I scrolled through the timeline, careful not to like anything.</p><p>"What's up with her?" Meg muttered.</p><p>"She's in love with Giselle Andalasia," Merida replied. I jumped and turned around.</p><p>"Am not!"</p><p>Merida scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sure." I stuck my tongue out at her and returned to Instagram.</p><p>I retreated back to my dorm room in a few hours, breaking the news of my wrists to my roommates. I fell asleep peacefully, some certain blue eyes and ginger locks dancing before my eyes. </p><p> </p><p>WENDY'S POV</p><p>Today, Peter, Tink, and I were meeting at the local bookstore/café, The Hundred Acre Wood, to work on our science project. I walked there after school, meeting the other two inside. <br/>"Hey, sorry I'm late. I had a mishap with my locker," I said, laying down my books. I noticed that Tink was sitting incredibly close to Peter and she narrowed her eyes as I kissed him on the cheek. I sat on the opposite side of them, squinting my eyes at the blonde.</p><p>"It's all right, Darling," Peter said, winking. I giggled and pulled out my science notebook, ready to work.</p><p>"So, does anyone have any ideas for this project?" I asked, twiddling my pen. The other two looked at me blankly. "All right then, I have some of my own, if you don't mind." And with that I launched into the ideas I had been brainstorming last night.</p><p>It became obvious to me that Tink wasn't listening when she suddenly clutched Peter's arm and said, "Hey Peter, do you remember that time when you, Alice, and I went on that camping trip? And you pushed me into the lake so I pulled you in?"</p><p>I looked up at her, frowning. Why would she say this now? They both knew that I was not part of their group before high school, and Tink sometimes tried to rub that in my face. Peter laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, I remember. What were you saying, Wendy?"</p><p>I cleared my throat, smiling at him as a thank you. "As I was – "</p><p>"And you know when we were dating and you took me to your secret spot? The one by the lake? You told me I was the only one who knew about it, but I assume you know by now, right, Wendy?" she interrupted, giving me a smug glare.</p><p>I stopped in my tracks, arching my brow. "No, actually, I don't," I said, giving a pointed and slightly angry look at Peter. Somewhere where Tink knows about but I don't? We shared everything together.</p><p>Peter gave another, more uncertain chuckle as he rubbed his neck. "Um, yeah. So, let's get back to the project, I have to leave soon." No, he didn't. I looked back at my notes, annoyance starting to bubble inside of me.</p><p>Tink gasped again, leaping in her chair and causing me to jump. "And when we dated – "</p><p>"Enough, Tink," Peter said firmly, prying her fingers off his bicep. "Let's just work on the project." I smirked at her blush face, knowing that if I rubbed it in too much she would blow up. Tink sort of had a reputation of having a short temper.</p><p>We continued on with the work successfully, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Tinkerbell slowly inching her chair towards my boyfriend even more. I sighed. "I think it's time for a break. Could you get me an iced coffee, Peter? Please?"</p><p>He smiled at me, standing up before the fairy could attack him again. "Of course," he said, and walked off. I smiled to myself and opened my laptop, preparing to work on the presentation.</p><p>Tink sighed and put her elbows on the table, completely neglecting the research she had been assigned to do. "You guys are so cute," she said, beaming falsely. I rolled my eyes. Tink was often very nice to me, but when it came to Peter she became a shark on the prowl.</p><p>I nodded absently, trying to fix a glitch on the computer. "Thanks. He is very sweet. He does so much for me, more than I could ever ask for. He's so considerate and wonderful. He buys me things, gives me surprises, and is the best thing that ever happened to me. But I suppose you know that, since you dated before?" I replied sweetly, smiling brightly at her. Now, I admit, I was being a little harsh by this mocking, but Tink's insistent clinging to Peter was really getting on my nerves.</p><p>She leaned back, her smile vanishing. "I suppose." Peter came back.</p><p>"One small iced coffee, double shot with light ice," he said, handing the drink to me. I grinned and kissed him before he went to sit down next to Tink again.</p><p>"Oh, Peter, could you help me with this slideshow? It's glitching on me," I said, pointing to the screen. He nodded and walked over to bend over my shoulder, helping me solve the problem. I watched Tink glare at us the entire time.</p><p>As we kept working, Tink and I stared daggers at each other the whole time. "Babe, can you throw this away for me?" I asked Peter, cringing at myself. I was never this needy, and I definitely never called him babe, but I needed to show Tink exactly how cute we were. He did so, but he wasn't exactly smiling.</p><p>"Love, remember – " Tink began, latching herself onto him again.</p><p>He stood up abruptly, shaking her off. "STOP IT! Stop it, will you? You've been at it all afternoon! I'm not some thing that you can just play tug-of-war with! Tink, I know we used to date. Yes, I remember. But I'm over you right now, and I love Wendy. She's my girlfriend. I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I had to. And Wendy, I love you, but don't act like I'm some possession of yours! Yes, I am your boyfriend, and yes, I will do anything for you, but not when it's just to show off. I've got to go."</p><p>And with that, the redheaded boy gathered his stuff and stomped out of the bookstore, which was full of silent onlookers. "Oh shit," someone whispered. I could feel myself shaking, and Tink was turning red with embarrassment. I grabbed my things and chased after him, catching him halfway down the block.</p><p>"Peter! Peter, wait!" He turned around, still fuming. I was surprised at his anger. He never got angry, and especially not with me.</p><p>"What?" he demanded. I cowered.</p><p>"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened. I...I wasn't myself. Tinkerbell was pushing all of my buttons and I got jealous. I know you love me but the way she was using you made me mad. I'm so so sorry, I never meant to treat you like an object. Please forgive me," I pleaded, tears forming in my eyes as I begged.</p><p>His brown eyes softened, making me relieved. He pulled me into a hug. "It's okay. It's okay, Darling. I just got a bit overworked. I love you, you know that?"</p><p>I looked into his eyes and kissed him. When we broke apart, I whispered, "Yes." We both smiled and began the walk back to the dorms, hand in hand.</p><p>"You got jealous?" he asked, breaking the silence and grinning.</p><p>I smiled bashfully, putting my head down. "Yes?" I murmured. He laughed and nudged my shoulder.</p><p>"What's this secret spot I heard about?" I asked jokingly, swinging our hands.</p><p>Peter blushed. "Ah, yeah, well...I was hoping you wouldn't find out about that until later...it was kind of a surprise."</p><p>I giggled. "Okay. I can wait."</p><p>And we walked, hand in hand, back home.</p><p> </p><p>A/N: Hello friends! Woowowow new update! I'm surprised I'm actually keeping up with this thing! I've been trying to write some shorter POVs but it didn't really work here. Ah, well! Anyways, what's going on between Eric and Ariel? Do you ship it? Vanessa sure is annoying, but there seems to be something under the complete witchiness (with a b. Do you guys mind swearing?). Auditions seemed to go well for Eric. And Mulan got on the football team! Exciting! Gaston is not happy about that, though. And Mulan seems to possibly have a new love interest... Yay! Tink still seems to be clinging on to Peter, both literally and figuratively, and Peter and Wendy don't seem too  happy about it. Will she take it further?</p><p>Sorry, I know nothing about football, I absolutely hate it, so if there happens to be any Disney loving football people out there, feel free to correct me!!</p><p>Question of the chapter: Do you guys like the musical/movie Grease? If so, who's your favorite character/character you'd most want to play?</p><p>My Answer: Yes! My favorite is Rizzo but I'd want to play Frenchy probably.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ALICE'S POV</p><p>It was Saturday at 3 o'clock and I was still in my pajamas. I had stayed on my bed all day, watching YouTube and scrolling through my phone. However, I had gotten a large iced coffee from the Black Cauldron (yes, in my pj's).</p><p>Wendy had just walked in from a trip to the store and announced to me and Tinkerbell, "Hi, girls! Peter is coming over soon, just to warn you. We're going to watch movies and eat snacks. You can have some, if you'd like."</p><p>Tink and I shared a look. I knew she liked Peter still, and that she was jealous of Wendy's and Peter's "perfect" relationship. And, to be honest, I was pretty sure I liked Peter too, having grown up with him for almost my whole life and being extremely close with him. I could tell him almost anything, and he was my best friend next to Wendy. But I would never say anything to her about my fondness towards him. That would ruin everything.</p><p>"Okay. Well," Tink said, looking back at Wendy. "I'll just go then. I won't, um, bother you two." She slipped on a pair of white sneakers, rolling up the sleeves of her blue blouse. As she dusted off her leggings, tied her shoes, and grabbed her purse, she asked me, "Would you like to join me, Alice?"</p><p>I looked at myself, barefaced and in comfortable clothing and I didn't really want to go out. But, I didn't want to see Wendy and Peter get all lovey-dovey in front of me. Did I really want to change, though? "Nah, it's fine. Thanks. I'll just stay out of your guys' way," I concluded, first to Tink and then to Wendy.</p><p>Tink gave me another look, giving me a second chance to escape the syrupy, mushy, cheesy romance about to ensue, but I shrugged her off assuringly. She then disappeared out of the dorm room as Wendy set her bag on the desk.</p><p>"Have you stayed in that spot all day?" she asked me.</p><p>"No, I went to get coffee," I answered, going back to my device. </p><p>"In your nightwear."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Wendy sighed, chuckling to herself. "Well, Alice will be Alice." She began setting up her and Peter's spot for watching movies, laying multiple blankets and pillows down in front of the TV. She got out the snacks, handing me my favorite sour gummies, and laid them out as well.</p><p>Soon enough, there was a knock on the door, and Wendy eagerly opened it to reveal Peter. They grinned at each other and shared a quick kiss, making me feel sick to my stomach. I turned away.</p><p>"Hey, Alice," Peter greeted as he walked into the room.</p><p>"Hey, Peter," I responded, trying to hide my reddening cheeks.</p><p>"Wendy, this looks amazing!" he complimented, his beautiful brown eyes scanning the setup. Wendy giggled.</p><p>"Thanks! Shall we start? What movie do you want to watch first?" They sat down, snuggling up next to each other, and I tried not to frown at them. The two began Titanic, and I decided to busy myself with my weekend homework, which I never really did. I kept getting distracted by their soft giggles and spontaneous kisses on the cheek, as well as Peter tickling Wendy to earn playful squeals. Every time they were together, it felt like they were trying to rub their love in my face. </p><p>After the movie, Wendy began scrolling through our Netflix account to find another one. "Have you been inside all day?" Peter asked me through the silence.</p><p>"Yes, she has," Wendy told him before I could answer. "She never gets out on the weekends."</p><p>"That's not my fault!" I argued, sitting up.</p><p>"You could ask people to hang out besides me. People like you, Alice. Or maybe ask a guy out?"</p><p>I slumped, my eyes glancing over to Peter. "No, I can't," I murmured.</p><p>"She's never been on a real date before," Wendy informed her boyfriend. She was starting to sound like my mother.</p><p> "I know!" she exclaimed suddenly. "How about Peter takes Alice on a date so she knows what it's like! And then she won't be nervous on a real one. You could go on a... friend date!"</p><p>My stomach squeezed. "I don't think that's – "</p><p>"You'll do it, right Peter?" Wendy cut me off.</p><p>"Sure, why not?" he said, shrugging and looking at me. "Sounds fun. Tomorrow at 12?"</p><p>In my head, I wanted to scream, No! That's the worst thing that you could possibly do to me! Don't torture me like this! But my mouth formed the word, "Okay." They began their next movie. </p><p>What had I just done?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next day, Wendy made me get up at 10 o'clock to get ready for my "friend date."</p><p>"Why so early?" I whined, squeezing my eyes when she shook me awake. "It's Sunday."</p><p>"This is what people do for dates. They look nice," she explained, holding up two outfits. "It's going to be kind of warm today, and Peter told me it would be outside."</p><p>"Where are we going?" I asked groggily.</p><p>"It's a surprise." I groaned. I hate surprises.</p><p>"Which outfit?" she asked, literally dragging me out of bed. I saw the hazy outfits on Wendy's perfectly made bed. One was tan silky pants with a white shirt, the other a light blue dress. I pointed to the first, rubbing my eyes. Wendy got me ready, putting on light makeup and drying my blonde hair for me.</p><p>At noon, a knock sounded on our dorm door. Tink, who had returned from coffee, said enviously to me, "Have fun."</p><p>I got up from my bed, Wendy handing me my dorm key. "Do have fun, Alice. And don't be nervous, he's just Peter."</p><p>I looked down, not meeting her eyes. "Yeah. Just Peter." Another knock. Wendy opened the door. </p><p>There Peter stood there, holding a bundle of daisies. He grinned and held them out to me. I blushed and took them. "Thank you," I murmured.</p><p>"M'lady," he said, offering his elbow. I giggled and took it, and we walked down the hall, Wendy waving at our backs. </p><p>"So where are we going?" I asked in the elevator.</p><p>"To the park," he responded, giving me a grin.</p><p>"The park?" I repeated, raising my eyebrows.</p><p>"Yep."</p><p>"Okay," I said. We walked out of the lobby and towards the park. When we arrived, I spotted a blanket and basket sitting under a tree.</p><p>"A picnic?" I said, smiling.</p><p>"Yeah...Do you like it?" he asked sheepishly.</p><p>I laughed. "Yes, it's wonderful." We went to sit down on the blanket and Peter opened the basket.</p><p>"We have BLTs from the Diner. Wendy told me it was your favorite," he said, pulling out the wrapped sandwiches. "And chips and vanilla milkshakes."</p><p>I clapped, because those were indeed my favorite things. "Thank you!" He handed me them.</p><p>"I was going to make PB&amp;Js - because those are the only sandwiches I can make - but Wendy said that you, for some unthinkable reason, don't like peanut butter."</p><p>I nodded bashfully. "I don't."</p><p>Peter looked mockingly hurt. "Why?" he gasped. "It's one of my favorite foods!"</p><p>"I don't know, I just don't like it."</p><p>"No wonder I never dated you," he laughed. I stared at him but then looked away, giving a halfhearted laugh. Peter cleared his throat.</p><p>We dug into our sandwiches, eventually getting through the uncomfortable silence and conversing over school and gossip. When we finished our food, Peter asked, "Do you want to go on the playground?"</p><p>I laughed, looking between him and the almost empty playground. "Why not?" I replied, standing up and brushing myself off. We ran over to the woodchips, climbing onto the apparatus. I chased him through it, and he escaped by sliding down the slide. I followed immediately, crashing into him at the bottom and causing us both to tumble to the woodchips.</p><p>We giggled together, lying on the ground. "Are you okay?" he laughed, pushing a bunch of hair from my face.</p><p>"Yeah," I sighed, my laughter finally subsiding. He looked at me, and for some unknown reason, I suddenly leaned in and kissed him. I pulled back quickly, a pit in my stomach growing. I stared at him with wide eyes as I realized what I had just done. </p><p>"I am so sorry," I breathed, still frozen in fear. Why did I do that? Why? "I – I don't – I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. It was...it was an accident." I held my face in my hands, moving away from him. What had I done?</p><p>"Hey. It's okay. You didn't mean to," he said gently, taking my wrists and looking at me.</p><p>"Are you sure? I'm sorry," I repeated, tears filling my eyes. I pushed them down. "What about Wendy?"</p><p>"I won't tell her. That is, if you don't," he chuckled, sitting back calmly on his hands. I shook my head.</p><p>We sat there for a few moments in silence. "We should go," he said. "I told Wendy that I'd get you back by 2." He helped me up, but I wouldn't meet his eyes. I helped him pack up the remains of the picnic and he walked me back to my dorm room.</p><p>When Wendy opened the door, she said cheerfully, "Hi! How was it? Did you have fun?" She gave Peter a kiss and I felt sick. I nodded. Peter glanced at me before he responded.</p><p>"Yeah, it was great, Wendy. Thanks."</p><p>"Well, I'm glad. I'll see you soon, Peter?" she said lovingly. I looked away and went to collapse on my bed. Tink looked at me oddly. They kissed again and Peter bid us goodbye. Both Tink and I would not look at him.</p><p>"How was it? For real," Tink whispered to me from her desk.</p><p>"Disastrous," I told her quietly as Wendy was humming happily, disappearing into the bathroom. Her cheeriness made my stomach hurt, unknowing of what had just happened between me and her boyfriend.</p><p>"What? What happened?" Tink questioned, any trace of jealously disappearing. I closed my eyes, replaying the moment in my head.</p><p>"Um...You promise you won't tell?" Tink nodded feverishly. I took a bracing breath. "I kissed Peter."</p><p>Tink gasped and leaned back, her eyes wide. The jealously had returned to her eyes. "Wow," she responded, dazed.</p><p>I stuffed my face into the covers, knowing I'd be regretting this day forever.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL'S POV</p><p>On Sunday evening, right after dinner, I was pacing in my dorm room. I was awaiting the email that would give us the Grease parts. "Oh, calm down," Rapunzel said to me, Moana, and Anna, who were both biting their nails with me. Rapunzel, however, had not tried out for anything. "You will all be fine. You're all amazing people and singers, even though technically I've never heard you sing, Moana."</p><p>"She's amazing," I chimed encouragingly, flashing a smile at her. Moana blushed.</p><p>Suddenly, my open laptop dinged. All four of us hastily crowded around it, making excited noises. But it was just a YouTube notification. We sighed and walked back to our previous places. </p><p>"Honestly, though, you guys have to get it. You're perfect for the roles," Rapunzel continued, sitting on a bed.</p><p>My nerves jumbling inside me, I sighed, "Don't get our hopes up."</p><p>Again, the computer sounded and we rushed to it. I hesitantly opened the email, the subject line called Grease: Fall Musical. I felt all shaky, and my hands were sweating and my face red as the email loaded. Finally, the cast list appeared.</p><p>GREASE CAST</p><p>Sandy Olsen– Aurora Rose</p><p>Understudy– Ariel Atlantica</p><p>Danny Zuko– Eric Caspian</p><p>Understudy– Philip Hubert</p><p>Betty Rizzo– Moana Motunui</p><p>Understudy– Jasmine Agrabah</p><p>Frenchy Facciano– Giselle Andalasia</p><p>Jan– Anna Arendelle</p><p>Kenickie Murdoch– Tramp Roberts</p><p>Putzie Jacobs– Henry Charming</p><p>Teen Angel &amp; Vince Fontaine– Edward Lockhart</p><p>Patty Simcox– Cinderella Tremaine</p><p>Marty Maraschino– Tinkerbell Hollow</p><p>Sonny LaTierri– Naveen Maldonia</p><p>Eugene Felsnic– Milo Thatch</p><p>DoodyDelFuego– Jim Hawkins</p><p>Principal McGee– Charlotte LaBouff</p><p>Charlene DiGregorio (Cha-Cha)– Esmeralda Gypse</p><p>Ensemble– Jasmine Agrabah,Ariel Atlantica, Arista Atlantica, Kristoff Bjorgman, Lady Dear, Terence Dust, Esmeralda Gypse, Nala Headley, Robin Hood, Philip Hubert,Hans Isles, Charlotte LaBouff, Edward Lockhart, Dmitri Nikolayevich-Antonov, Kuzco Pepikrankenitz, Anya Romonav, Vanessa Sea, Florian Stockwell, Milo Thatch, Anastasia Tremaine, Simba Weaver, Snow White</p><p>Thank you all for auditioning! Mr. Scar and I look forward to our first rehearsal, starting tomorrow after school. Hope to see you there!</p><p>Sincerely, Mrs. Rose</p><p>I stared at the list for a long time. Moana and Anna were cheering around me, Rapunzel congratulating them. "Ariel! You're the understudy for the lead! That's great!" Anna said to me, jolting me back to reality.</p><p>"Congratulations, Ariel!" Moana said, squeezing me tight.</p><p>"You too!" I responded happily, plastering a smile on my face. I hugged her back, also hugging Punz and Anna.</p><p>With the chatting of the list going on until we settled down, we got ready for bed, for it was Monday tomorrow. But, as I laid in my bed with the other girls asleep, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in the list. Of course, out of the many girls, I was glad to be the second choice, but the fact that it wasn't certain and that I couldn't have a romance role with Eric had kind of dampened my hopes. As I fell asleep, however, I was still excited for rehearsal and to see Eric. This might not be as bad as I thought. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here is your seventh chapter! Alice is having conflicting feelings with her best friend and crush, and Ariel got a part in the musical, but it wasn't exactly what she was hoping for. Will she ever get her time to shine on stage with her "soulmate," Eric Caspian? </p><p>I haven't been that pleased with this chapter and the last one, but the next one is drama-filled. This is also kind of a filler, that's why it's so short, so sorry if it was kind of boring. </p><p>Question of the chapter: What are your Disney OTPs?</p><p>My Answer: My Disney OTPs are Moana x Ariel (Mariel?? Arana?? help), Eugenzel (Flynn/Eugene x Rapunzel), Megcules (Meg x Hercules), Hiccup x Jack (ship name?), Pendy (Peter x Wendy), and Tadashi x me. I try not to let my OTPs overpower my writing and don't want to stick to just mine so that you guys don't get bored or sick of it. But, obviously, I write better when writing about things or people I'm passionate about so... if you guys can give me fluffy stories or art of your OTPs maybe you'll convert me and I'll make it happen in this book.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ARIEL'S POV</p><p>The next morning after homeroom, I walked to my locker to get my science book. On the other side of the hall stood Vanessa, Drizella, and Marie in a huddle. Vanessa gave me a fake smile as the other two continued muttering to her. I moved past Jim Hawkins, who had the locker beside mine. As I entered the combination, I felt the girls' eyes on me.</p><p>When I opened the locker, I was met with water glaring down at me. It was sloshing around in an impossible rectangular shape, covering my books and items. My eyes widened, knowing this couldn't be possible, but before I could do anything, I heard fingers snap and the water heaved on top of me. I was slapped in the face with it and forced onto the ground. I coughed and sputtered as the people around me chuckled. Wiping my hair from my face, I blinked dazedly, grunting.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Jim asked worriedly, crouching down next to me. I realized the front of his clothes were wet too from being splashed, and immediately felt bad.</p><p>"Somebody's having a bad day, huh, Fish Girl?" Drizella said snottily, giving a high-pitched cackle.</p><p>"Shut up, Drizella," Jim defended, scowling at her. She and her friends chirped and giggled, walking down the hall. Vanessa shot me one last dirty look, smirking.</p><p>I sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just, um, a little wet," I said, accepting his hand for help up.</p><p>"Here," he said, snatching a jacket from his locker. He shrugged it over me and I thanked him. "Let's go to the office. Maybe you can get a change of clothes and we can figure out who did this."</p><p>We began walking. "How was that possible?" I murmured to myself, replaying the mysterious water over in my mind.</p><p>"I don't know. Water doesn't just do that...it must've been magic. We'll find out in Mickey's office," Jim said thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowing. All of a sudden, I realized that his arm was still around my shoulders and blushed. Jim didn't notice and kept it there.</p><p>We reached the office, asking Minnie about her husband. She looked concerned and said, "Yes, of course...I think you'd better go in here now. What happened?"</p><p>I tried to explain the situation briskly, and when I finished, she opened the door and asked Mickey if we could come in. We were revealed to the office, and standing there with the principal was Aurora and Cinderella, drenched from head to toe. </p><p> </p><p>AURORA'S POV</p><p>On Monday, I had gotten several congratulatory texts about my new part of Sandy in Grease. I was, of course, as humble as possible and thanked everyone.</p><p>As I walked into the school building, I said to Cindy and Snow, "I'm going to go to the choir room to talk to Mrs. Rose, okay guys? I'll only be three minutes. Meet me at my locker?"</p><p>"Sure," Snow agreed. I flashed a smile at her and Cindy and walked toward the choir classroom. I turned the knob, and it was surprisingly unlocked. I entered into the empty classroom, looking around for Mrs. Rose.</p><p>"Hello?" I called. Suddenly, the door slammed behind me and I startled. Looking around, I was still alone. I went to the door, tugging at the knob, but it wouldn't open.</p><p>Then, at my feet, water began to pour in from the crack under the door. It pooled around my feet, rising to ankle-length in just a few seconds.</p><p>"What...?" I muttered to myself, stepping away from the water. It slipped into my ankle boots and panic started to rise in my chest. I clutched my book to me and pressed myself to the opposite wall, the water at my knees now.</p><p>My breathing quickening, I sloshed over to the door and began pounding on it. "Help!" I cried, trying the door over and over. "Help! Please!" The water began seeping into my corduroy skirt and I smacked on the door harder. The water reached my shoulders quickly. I felt around in my hair, trying to see if I had a bobby pin in it to pick the lock, but this was the one unfortunate day that I had worn it completely down. I began treading water, letting my book and bag drift away from me.</p><p>"Help me!" I managed, gulping for breath as the water filled the small room rapidly. It rose to the ceiling, and I took a last breath before being overcome. I swam to the door, trying the knob again.</p><p>Through the door, I heard someone ask in a muffled voice, "Aurora?" I frantically hit the door as hard as I could, moving through the water slowly and praying someone would rescue me.</p><p>I saw the knob turn and the door was opened. The room of water, myself included, flooded out into the hall. I crashed into Cinderella, gasping for breath. We slid to a stop in the middle of the hallway, me lying on top of her.</p><p>"Watch the shoes," Vanessa smirked, stepping over us. I scowled at her, drenched and wiping my sopping blonde hair from my eyes.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Cindy asked worriedly, drawing my attention back to her. I stared into her eyes, regaining my breath.</p><p>"Yeah," I replied, suddenly blushing as I realized the awkward position we were in. Cindy was lying on the ground and my body was on top of hers, our faces inches from each other. Clearing my throat and subconsciously licking my lips, I climbed off of her to sit on my knees. I looked away from Cindy, who was trying not to smile and tucking her wet strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. I wrung out my own ruined hair and looked down at my dripping clothes, wondering about what I was going to do. I couldn't go through the rest of the day wearing wet things.</p><p>"Are you okay?" I asked Cindy as she helped me up.</p><p>"You're the one who almost drowned," she laughed, causing me to chuckle and blush. "What even happened, anyway?"</p><p>"I don't even know," I responded. "It looked like magic. But that doesn't make any sense – magic isn't allowed on campus. It's impossible. All of the sudden, the room just started filling with water. It seemed like it was from the outside. I don't...I don't know," I told her.</p><p>"Hm..." she mused, crossing her arms. "Well, let's go to Principal Mickey. We'll report it and find out who it is."</p><p>She took my hand and pulled me towards the main office, not even stopping when the bell for homeroom rang. We reached the office, asking Minnie if the principal was busy.</p><p>"Oh, no, girls, he's doing nothing right now. Are you two all right?" she asked kindly, looking up and down worriedly at our clothes and hair.</p><p>"Um, yeah, just a little...mishap. That we need to talk to the principal about," Cindy explained, laughing a little.</p><p>"Of course. Here you are," she said, walking around the counter and knocking on the principal's door.</p><p>"Come in," a voice said.</p><p>"Go on in, you girls," Minnie said to us, smiling.</p><p>Cindy turned the knob and opened the door, greeting a cheerful Mickey Mouse. "Sit down, gir...uh, maybe don't sit down, um..." he began, looking from our clothes to his nice plush chairs. </p><p>"Yeah, we probably shouldn't," I said, looking at the red chairs too.</p><p>"Um, so what happened, ladies?" Mickey asked curiously, setting aside some papers.</p><p>I proceeded to tell him my story, his facial expression confused. Once I finished, he said, "Yes, that does seem to be magic. It has all the characteristics, and the hall outside was not flooded. Do you have any idea who this could be?"</p><p>Cindy and I looked at each other. "No..."</p><p>"Okay, I have files on all the students with magical powers.... Here we are," he said, pulling out a fat folder from a drawer. He flipped through it. "The students who have water powers are Miss Vanessa Sea, all of the Atlantica sisters, Miss Silvermist Waters, and Miss Moana Motunui. Would any of these girls have any motivation to harm you, Miss Rose?"</p><p>I thought. "I don't think Silvermist or Moana or any of Ariel's sisters would.... But maybe Vanessa or Ariel for not getting the part of Sandy?"</p><p>Cinderella nodded slowly in agreement. "And she was there when it happened. When I went to check on you, Rora, she was kind of just standing outside of the classroom, staring at it."</p><p>Suddenly, there was another knock on the door, startling us all. "Mickey? There are more students to see you, and they seem to be in the same situation," Minnie said through the door crack. She opened it wider and in walked a sopping Ariel and Jim Hawkins.</p><p>"Well, what happened to you two, then?" Mickey asked, looking between the four of us.</p><p>Ariel began telling her story, describing how her locker, full of water, had tried to drown her.</p><p>"What happened to you?" Jim asked me and my best friend.</p><p>I dove into my story again, not going into all the details this time. "Well, we know it's not Ariel," Cindy chipped in.</p><p>"Do you know who it is?" Jim inquired.</p><p>"Well, we think it's Vanessa," Cindy said to them. "For being jealous you two got the Sandy part and she didn't."</p><p>"Well, it's definitely probable," Ariel muttered. "She was near my locker."</p><p>"All right, girls. I will interrogate Miss Sea today and punish her accordingly. I will also try to figure out how her powers were not stripped of her when she entered campus and how she got them back. Thank you for telling me. You four can go home and change clothes, be back by nutrition."</p><p>"Okay. Thank you so much, Principal Mickey," I said, all four of us exiting the office. We separated into our previous pairs and began the walk home in squelchy shoes.</p><p>When Cinderella and I arrived back at the dorm, we both changed into new clothes. Cindy slipped on jeans, brown leather lace-up shoes, and a black and white spotted blouse. I put on black jeans, along with an oversized flannel and brown boots. Deciding to just air-dry my hair, I was just going to put on a black beanie. After Cindy dried her hair in the bathroom, she walked out and announced that we still had an hour left before we had to be back on campus.</p><p>"Hey, do you want to hear my song?" she asked, sitting on the bed. I joined her.</p><p>"What song?" I said, confused.</p><p>"I've been writing a song with my guitar," she explained happily, pulling out her guitar case.</p><p>"How have I not noticed? Let me hear." She tuned the strings quickly and took a breath.</p><p>She began with a quiet introduction on the instrument, and then started singing with the most beautiful, gentle voice I had ever heard. Butterflies exploded in my stomach as I watched her close her eyes, her voice singing,</p><p>So this is love, mmm <br/>So this is love <br/>So this is what makes life divine <br/>I'm all aglow, mmm <br/>And now I know (and now I know)<br/>The key to all heaven is mine</p><p>My heart has wings, mmm <br/>And I can fly <br/>I'll touch every star in the sky <br/>So this is the miracle <br/>That I've been dreaming of <br/>Mmm, mmm <br/>So this is love</p><p>On the strum of the last chord, she made eye contact with me, and I stared into her diamond eyes far after the music ended. It was the most beautiful song I had ever heard, and Cindy as well as her voice was gorgeous. I mean... my thoughts interrupted. Her song was beautiful. And her voice. Yeah. I felt myself blushing, and I reluctantly tore my gaze away from hers, looking at my hands.</p><p>I cleared my throat. "Um...that was beautiful."</p><p>Cinderella blushed too. "Thank you," she said quietly. She put away the guitar as she said, "I'm working on singing something similar to it in French... you know, the language of love."</p><p>I smiled, but then coughed, a new thought entering my head. "Um, so then is that, uh, for Henry? Or..."</p><p>Cindy stopped what she was doing, looking up and locking eyes again. "Um," she responded. "I... I'm not really sure."</p><p>I hummed, trying to keep my smile down, but happiness was bubbling up inside of me. </p><p> </p><p>SNOW'S POV</p><p>On Monday, two days before the student council speeches, an exciting announcement was heard over the loudspeaker in the morning. I was chatting with Florian, my boyfriend, and Giselle and Edward, her boyfriend in Mr. Gepetto's homeroom. Giselle was sitting on Edward's lap, giggling at him. "Good morning, everyone!" Fairy Godmother said. "I have an exciting announcement this morning! If everyone would quiet down, I want all to hear this." She waited a couple moments, and when it fell silent, the assistant principal began again. "Students, I am happy to announce the first dance of the school year! We will be having our annual Winter Formal, separated for classes. The freshman will have it December 2ndat 7 pm, the sophomores will have theirs on December 9that 7..."</p><p>I squealed in excitement, the rest of the classroom bursting into chatter as well. "Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait!" I said to my boyfriend, Florian, who was smiling at me. "We have to go dress shopping soon, Giselle!" I was extremely thrilled at the new announcement because last year's Winter Formal had been fantastic. I had had the most romantic time with Florian and a great time with my friends.</p><p>"Also," Fairy Godmother said, "at the dance, an Ice King and Queen will be nominated! We will hand out nomination forms tomorrow. All right, let's see... Ah, yes. We have two more days until student council votes are cast! Nominees, make sure to advertise your campaign and prepare your speech!" Godmother finished her announcements as I began thinking about how I was going to get people to vote for me for president. Aurora, Cindy and I had come up with my slogan: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the best vote of them all? Vote Snow White for president!" and had printed out multiple large posters with my smiling face on them. I had also made buttons. On the voting day, we were allowed to have booths in the auditorium and I planned to hand out those buttons, candy apples, and my specialty gooseberry pie.</p><p>"Snow, are we putting up posters at lunch today?" Edward asked, his arm hugging Giselle's shoulders.</p><p>"Yes, but if we don't finish then we can do it after school," I replied.</p><p>"I hope you win!" Giselle told me optimistically, beaming and squishing her cheek against Edward's.</p><p>"I know she will," Florian said lovingly, gazing at me. Then he quickly pecked me on the cheek, causing me to giggle.</p><p>When homeroom ended, I went to science class, joining Aurora and Cinderella. We were given free time to get with our groups and work on our project. My friends and I were doing our project of how sugar affects the brain's focus and energy.</p><p>We had done the experiment already, Cindy and Aurora volunteering to be the subjects. Aurora had just eaten normally, trying to refrain from junk food, but Cinderella had eaten more sugary food than usual. Beforehand, both had taken an IQ test, taking it again once the experiment had been performed. It showed that Cinderella had gotten a lower score than before, Aurora maintaining about the same score, meaning that sugar outweighed focus. All we had to do was write up the report and assemble the project. We were choosing to do a PowerPoint for the visual, so Aurora got permission to take out her laptop and work on the project.</p><p>While I pulled out the data I had recorded and handed it to Aurora, she and Cindy were giggling together and pushing each other with their shoulders. As Rora looked at my paper and began typing, Cindy suddenly yawned and rested her head on her best friend's shoulder, closing her eyes. Aurora laughed and looked down at her fondly, saying warmly, "What's wrong? Usually I'm the one who's tired all the time."</p><p>Cindy chuckled, her eyes still closed. "I did not get any sleep last night," she responded.</p><p>"Oh, dear, was I snoring again?" I asked worriedly. Aurora had complained about me lightly snoring once or twice, but I hadn't any complaints in a while.</p><p>Cinderella let out a laugh, opening her eyes and looking at me. "No, you're fine, Snow. I just was thinking to myself. A lot." Her eyes darted up to Aurora's face, which was concentrated on the PowerPoint. I looked between the two as Aurora laid her head on Cindy's, who had closed her eyes again. My hazel eyes squinted at them and I smiled a bit, going back to the data.</p><p>We whizzed through the class, almost finishing the entire project. At lunch, Florian, Edward, Philip, Henry, Giselle, Aurora, Cinderella, and I met up. I had gotten the rolled up posters from my locker as well as the large bag of pins and a couple rolls of tape. Henry and Cindy were also putting up their posters for treasurer and social activities director.</p><p>"I'll go with Cindy!" Aurora volunteered quickly, grabbing onto her friend's waist.</p><p>"Okay, I guess it's you and me, Hen'," Philip said laughingly to Henry, Cindy's boyfriend. I went with my boyfriend and Giselle with hers. We split up the three different posters evenly and then set off, most of us eating our lunches on the way.</p><p>After putting up several posters, I asked Florian, "What do you think about Rora and Cindy?"</p><p>"What do you mean?" he inquired as I passed him a piece of tape. I was too short to tape the top corners, so it was my job to pass him tape so he could reach.</p><p>"I mean... They've been kind of really close lately, haven't you noticed?" I said, moving on to the next poster spot.</p><p>Florian thought for a moment, putting up another poster. "I don't really notice these things. But, I mean, you're their roommate and best friend, so you would notice. I don't really moniter their every move."</p><p>I scoffed jokingly. "It's probably just my imagination."</p><p>"What would happen, though, to Philip and Henry? They can't do that to them. They really really love those girls," Florian said, furrowing his eyebrows.</p><p>"I don't know..." I replied thoughtfully, replaying my best friends' affectionate movements towards each other recently. They'd stayed up long nights giggling, playfully pushing each other more, and just spending more time together. </p><p>We managed to put up all of our posters up around the school by the end of lunch. At the end of school, Florian had scooped me up in his arms, earning a bout of giggles. We walked home together, and he was planning on helping me proofread my presidential speech and bake hundreds of miniature gooseberry pies. We finished our homework and edited the speech, afterwards making our way to Daisy's Diner. I worked there to bake pies and treats oftentimes, and Daisy had let me borrow half the kitchen to make my pies.</p><p>As we prepared the crust, Florian kept messing up the measurements, making me laugh and correct him. When he added too little flour, I took a cup from his hands to show him how much to add to it, but all he did was dab my nose with flour. "Hey!" I cried, crossing my eyes to try to see the tip of my nose. Florian chuckled, swiping another line of flour across my cheek. "Stop that!"</p><p>I dipped my clean palm into the flour and patted his forehead, grinning. Florian gasped. We began an all out flour fight, until Chef Louis peeked his head in and started yelling. "Stop it! You're making a mess in my kitchen!" We stopped immediately, sharing a look before Louis disappeared again. The two of us burst into a fit of snickers.</p><p>"'Stop it!'" Florian mimicked in an elaborate French accent, twirling an imaginary mustache. I laughed, wiping the flour off his face.</p><p>We finally completed the 300 mini pies and went back home. "Goodnight, Snow," Florian said as we were outside of my door. He gave me a light kiss on the forehead and I smiled softly.</p><p>"Goodnight, Florian. Thank you for all your help," I said to him honestly.</p><p>"Of course. You are going to do amazing at the speeches. I love you."</p><p>"I love you too," I responded. I slipped into my dorm room after he left and was greeted with Aurora and Cindy rolling around on the ground, wrapped in blankets and clutching their stomachs, silent laughter and tears coming from them. "Dear, me," I said, grinning at them and putting a palm over my mouth. "What happened here?"</p><p>Cindy tried to speak, but no words came through her forceful laughter. Once Aurora had finally almost composed herself, she choked out, "Cindy tripped and – and fell in the blanket."</p><p>I raised an eyebrow at them. "Okay..." I said, stepping over them. I got dressed into my pajamas and put my raven-black hair in curlers. I fell asleep to Aurora and Cindy giggling to each other, a light smile on my face. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello my friends! How did you like chapter 8? It was early as promised. Some bad luck came to Aurora and Ariel? Who do you think it is and why would they do that? How do they have magic powers on campus? How will the student council campaigns go? There's a Winter Formal! How exciting! But what's going on between Aurora and Cinderella? Do you ship Snow and Florian? So many questions!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your Disney NOtp? (You are against that ship)</p><p>My answer: I do not particularly like anything with Jack Frost except him and Hiccup. Also I'm not a fan of Phobus and Esmeralda and Belle and Adam. Oh and Moana and Maui is disgusting to me. I'm sorry.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>VANESSA'S POV</p><p>"That was amazing, Vanessa. You're powers are so...powerful!" Marie gushed, admiring me.</p><p>I smirked and flipped my ponytail. "Oh, please," I said, raising my eyebrows at my nails. "That was nothing. I can do mush worse than that."</p><p>Suddenly, the front doors opened and Drizella, Anastasia, and Marie turned to look. I mimicked their gaze and in walked Aurora and Cinderella, followed closely by Jim and Ariel. My jaw fell open.</p><p>"They're back," Anastasia stated obviously.</p><p>I flashed an annoyed look at her. "Apparently."</p><p>"Maybe you should actually drown them next time," Marie said, watching them walk down the hall.</p><p>"Hm," I mused, glaring at the four who were all unfazed. I guess I wouldhave to be stronger. I needed to scare them both into giving up their parts, getting me the part of the lead. They could not have all the glory, and they could not have Eric. Plus, my mom was already mad at me for not getting a good part. I needed to be better.</p><p>At that moment, Minnie Mouse said over the intercom, "Can Vanessa Sea come to the principal's office, please? Vanessa Sea, the principal's office." I sighed, not expecting to be found out this early.</p><p>"Oh, no," Anastasia said, a worried look on her face.</p><p>"Oh, relax Tremaine number one," I said, already walking to the office. "I've got this all under control."</p><p>I arrived at the building, walking straight into Mickey's office with no invitation. "Oh, hello, Miss Sea. Sit down..." he said, but I had already taken a seat in a plush chair. He cleared his throat. "So, um, Aurora Rose and Ariel Atlantica have been involved with some water-related magical...incidents and we think that you may have had some motivation to do so."</p><p>I fake gasped and I brought a hand up to my crimson lips. "Me? Hurt Aurora and Ariel? My friends? I would never!"</p><p>"You have water powers, and they said that you may have been jealous over the fall musical roles," Mickey relayed to me nervously, seeming to shrink under my apparent surprise.</p><p>"That old thing?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Oh, I don't mind at all. They are perfect for the part anyway. I would never steal it from them. How low do you think of me, Mr. Mickey?"</p><p>"Oh..." Mickey said, looking confused. "Well...I guess I'll have to question everyone else with water powers. But, Miss Sea, you, um...you are not off the hook yet. Now, go to your third period, have Mrs. Minnie write a pass for you."</p><p>I stalked out of the office, passing by Minnie and heading straight into the hallway. But, instead of going to math, I walked to my mother's office.</p><p>I knocked on the door labeled 'Ursula Sea, Science and Swim Coach.' "Come in," her voice drawled, and I opened the door. She was lounging in her large spin chair, puffing out smoke from her cigarette. I coughed, rolling my eyes. She had been told off from smoking many times, but never listened. "Vanessa," she said. "What happened in the office? I trust you went through with the job?"</p><p>"Yes," I sighed, collapsing into a chair. "I did it. But it didn't do much. I just saw them come in and they were all happy and flouncy, not a care in the world."</p><p>"Well, then you need to do more. They cannot have that part. You are not doing your best," she said, carelessly breathing in another cloud of smoke through her nostrils.</p><p>"Those stunts took a lot of energy out of me, Mom. I'm tired. You know how weak I get after using my powers. Plus, I did two consecutively," I protested.</p><p>"I did not give you powers on this campus for nothing!" she snapped. "I pulled strings for your own good."</p><p>"Maybe you should've done it yourself," I muttered under my breath.</p><p>"Excuse me?" she asked menacingly, sitting up and breathing out smoke.</p><p>"Just saying. If you wanted it done so badly then you should've gotten off of your lazy ass and done it yourself," I retorted. Ursula gasped.</p><p>"How dare you speak to me that way! I am your mother!" she yelled, standing up and putting her fat hands on the desk.</p><p>"Well maybe you should start acting like my mother and not my boss! You can't control me! I already gave up dance team for you! I'm not your servant!" I shouted, standing up too and angrily grabbing my purse. I stormed out of the office, leaving Ursula screaming behind me, and ran to the bathroom.</p><p>Tears were streaming down my heavily makeuped face as I locked the stall door, sliding down to the floor. I seemed to be spending a lot of time in bathrooms lately – crying over Eric, the Grease parts, swim team because Ariel was made captain, my mother, and throwing up. </p><p>I remained in the stall the remainder of the period, fixing up my makeup before heading to swim team. I did as much as I could to make my eyes less puffy, but gave up soon after.</p><p>"Are you all right, Vanessa?" Eliwony asked me as I entered the locker room.</p><p>I flashed her a sour look, snapping, "Why do you care?" and went to change into my swimsuit.</p><p>When we walked out to the pool, I gave a death glare to Ursula when she lumbered out of her office. "For our first swim meet against Fox Institute," she announced, returning the glare and reading off her stupid clipboard, "we will do the individual medley first swum by Attina. For the medley relay, Aquata will be swimming the backstroke – "</p><p>"What?" I cried. For the past week, I had continuously had the best backstroke time of the team. I was certain I'd get that part.</p><p>"Be quiet, Vanessa. Silvermist will do the breaststroke, Milo will do the butterfly, and Ariel will do freestyle," the coach finished. She continued down the list, only giving me the 50 meter backstroke. But I still huffed as we got into the water to warm up. I knew she was only doing this to get under my skin, and it was working. I'll show her. I'll show them all. </p><p> </p><p>TIANA'S POV</p><p>On Tuesday, the night before the student council speeches and elections, I was going over my speech with Meg, Lottie, Jasmine, and Nala, who had all helped me with my campaign. I was trying to memorize it to seem more confident and smart. When I finished, I looked up at them, proud of myself for memorizing it all that time.</p><p>"Wonderful, absolutely fabulous, Tia!" Lottie gushed, standing up and clapping.</p><p>"Yeah," Meg agreed. "That was really good."</p><p>"Maybe say your name at the very end right before you say thanks," Jasmine suggested thoughtfully. "So that your name will kind of stay in their minds."</p><p>"I agree," Nala said. "But otherwise it's really good."</p><p>"Okay," I said, writing in her suggestion.</p><p>"And we have all the coupons ready?" I asked Meg. I had gotten Daisy to give me hundreds of coupons to the diner, since so many students eat there often.</p><p>"Yeah," Meg responded, holding up the stack of coupons.</p><p>"Great."</p><p>"You should probably go to bed, Tia. You don't want to be like a zombie tomorrow," Nala said, standing up and going to the doors.</p><p>I sighed, tucking my speech into my binder. "You're probably right. Thanks you guys. I'll see you tomorrow!" </p><p>Meg and Nala walked out of my dorm, bidding me goodnight. "Oh, Tia, you're goin' to blow 'em all away!" Lottie told me, falling onto her pink bed.</p><p>"Thanks, Lottie," I said, folding my clothes and putting them in their assigned drawers. "I just hope I do well tomorrow."</p><p>The next morning, I put on my best outfit: black pants, a white shirt, and a forest green blazer. "Hey Tia, which outfit?" Lottie asked, holding up two pink outfits on hangers.</p><p>"Um... this one," I said, pointing to a pencil skirt and jacket with a white blouse.</p><p>We showered and changed, gathering our stuff and walking out the door. We went straight to the auditorium together, where we had set up our booths to advertise. I took a seat behind my green covered table, placing the coupons and buttons at the front of the table. There were posters all over, saying: We're almost there! Vote Tiana for president!</p><p>On the other side of the auditorium, an all-pink booth with Lottie's advertisements all over it stood. Her smiling face was plastered on the sign behind her and about 8 cupcake stands were overflowing with pink frosted vanilla cupcakes, which I had helped make. Lottie couldn't cook or bake for her life. "Doin' all right over there, Tia?" she yelled across the room, waving.</p><p>I laughed and flashed her a thumbs up, organizing the booth. Vanessa in the navy blue booth next to me snorted. "Coupons? Good luck with that." She had cupcakes, cookies, juice, stickers, and posters with a smirking Vanessa on them, probably showing a little too much cleavage. I rolled my eyes and went back to making my coupon piles perfect.</p><p>Soon, students began pouring into the auditorium at the beginning of first period. I had gotten the best spot, my booth being right by the door, so more people approached my booth first. I smiled, handing out coupons and buttons and saying my catchphrase all at once.</p><p>"Good luck, Tia!" Esmeralda said, surrounded by my beaming friends.</p><p>"Thanks, you girls," I said, handing them coupons and buttons. I realized Judy had written in green paint, TIANA FOR PRES across her forehead and cheeks. I smiled at her. "Thanks for the support, Judy." She grinned at me as everyone walked away and I went to hand a button to Phoebus.</p><p>After about ten minutes, almost everyone was sitting down in the audience seats. I was almost out of coupons and completely out of buttons, and all the people in the audience were enjoying handfuls of cupcakes and treats.</p><p>"Right over here, students," Mrs. Minnie said to all of the student council candidates, ushering all of us onto stage. She placed us into seats, sectioned by position. I was next to Snow, who was trembling with nerves.</p><p>"Hey Snow. You'll be fine," I assured her, putting a hand on her pale arm. She nodded. I looked across her and saw Vanessa, who was giving all the students in the audience a death glare.</p><p>Minnie came to our section, holding a bowl. "Choose a number, children," she said, holding the bowl of paper strips out to Arthur. Vanessa dove for it before him and looked at the slip.</p><p>"One," she read boastfully, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.</p><p>Arthur then chose. "Three."</p><p>Snow chose two, so I was left with the last place. The first person up, though, was Milo for historian. He technically didn't need to make a speech because he was the only one who was running, but he wanted to make a good impression. He was intelligent as always, using a lot of big words that I'm sure most of the students didn't know.</p><p>Next was Cinderella and Anna for social activities director. Cindy said that she was going to push for a third school dance, and Anna gave ideas for the spring dance.</p><p>For treasurer, Henry Charming and Berlioz O'Malley's speeches seemed dull compared to Lottie's. She had bounced up to the podium, adjusting her blazer over her shoulders. "Hello, you lovely people!" she yelled enthusiastically into the mic, causing people to jump. "My name is Charlotte LaBouff, and I am runnin' for treasurer. Y'all are probably thinking that I'm a dumb blonde who doesn't know what she's talking about. But, my fellow classmates, I am here to tell you that I know money. My daddy Eli LaBouff is the producer of all the big movies out there, and he makes big bucks. We're millionaires, one might say. I know how to handle money, so I think I am your best candidate for treasurer. Vote Lottie LaBouff, the girl who knows her money!" I chuckled at her as she walked back to her seat among a lot of applause.</p><p>Quasimodo Frollo, Rosetta Gardener, and Anastasia Tremaine made their speeches for secretary, and then next it was Jane Porter, Kuzco Groove, Lady Dear, and Hans Isles for vice president.</p><p>Finally, it was time for the presidents' speeches. Vanessa sauntered up to the microphone and put her paper on it. "Hello students. As all of you know, my name is Vanessa Sea and I am going to be student council president once you vote for me. I assure you I will work hard on your behalf, listen to your ideas, and do everything in my power to make this school way better than it is. Not only do I stand before you as a candidate, but as a confidant and friend. And I'm a pretty good friend. I will communicate you and keep you informed. I will ask you for help. I have ideas to improve this school, because it needs improving. First of all, this school needs to be cleaner. It's absolutely filthy. Second, I will try to make this school exciting. It's very dull here, so I will try to make new events and make it actually interesting. I am asking for your vote and believe I have the qualities of a leader. Let us improve this school together. Vote Vanessa Sea." She flipped her hair and walked back to her chair.</p><p>Snow flimsily walked up and adjusted the mic to her 5'0" height. She made a cute, short but sweet speech that involved changes in the cafeteria and safety. </p><p>Soon she was done, and Arthur followed, delivering a somewhat simple speech. And in what seemed like a few seconds, my feet were taking me up to the podium. Just to make sure, I put my speech on the stand in case I forgot.</p><p>"Good morning," I began confidently, looking around at my peers. "My name is Tiana Orleans and I am running for student council president of the sophomore class. This election, I believe, presents us all with a clear choice.  It is a choice between continuing things the way they have always been done or electing leaders who can bring fresh ideas and perspectives. I am that leader."</p><p>"I believe that my experience and personality will help me offer new ideas. I have already made changes in this school, last year making a petition to get more vending machines in the school. I have much experience with student council, like when I was a class representative last year. Above all, I believe my most important job will be to listen to you and to communicate with you regularly.  A student council president is nothing if she doesn't listen to the voices and contributions of her peers."</p><p>"After asking around, I have a few ideas that I believe I can accomplish and use to make this school a better place.</p><p>The first is more field trips. We get one end of the year trip and one spring break trip. Those are fun and everything, but what if we had more? What if we had one over winter break? We could go overseas maybe, and in order to gain the money we could do a lot of cool fundraisers. I know a lot of you enjoy the trips, and also some of you don't want to go home for winter, so you could go on a trip with your friends instead."</p><p>"Another idea I've heard floating around is better anti-bullying campaigns. For the 2 years we've been here, it seems that a lot of you have been victims of bullying. In fact, how many of you have?" Many people in the audience nervously raised their hands, looking around cautiously. "Yeah," I breathed. "That's a lot. We could make an organization to protect against bullying, perhaps a club or group of people to promise to watch out for bullying. We could give you more ways to stand up to bullying, and be stricter in punishment for the bullies."</p><p>"As you can see, the future depends on our ability to work together.  Cooperation and teamwork will get us far.  If you elect me as your president, I vow to lead with openness and honesty. I will lead with your best interests in mind.  I welcome all of your ideas for making our school better. I will work with you to the best of my ability. I know voting for someone requires a lot of trust.  I am willing to work hard every day to earn your trust. I humbly ask this morning for your vote. Together we can achieve great things. We are almost there, and I will get us to the finish line. Vote Tiana Orleans for president. Thank you."</p><p>I smiled and walked off of the podium, going back to my chair. "Thank you, Tiana. Now, voting stations are on either wall of the auditorium. We will let you go by row, and you vote on your choice for president, vice president, treasurer, historian, which is a hard choice, secretary, and social activities director," Mickey said, earning chuckles from the audience since Milo was the only one up for historian.</p><p>I watched as each row of students went to the voting stations and cast their ballots. Minnie handed all of the canidates ballots, instructing us not to cast a vote for the position we were running for. I filled in Jane for vice president, Milo for historian (obviously), Lottie for treasurer, Quasimodo for secretary, and Anna for social activities director.</p><p>Since everyone voted using iPads, the votes were counted almost immediately. When everyone was in their seats again, Mickey walked up to the microphone with a paper with writing on it. "All right, students! We have the results."</p><p>My heart leapt with excitement as Mickey read the list. "For historian, Milo Thatch! Congratulations, Milo." People clapped, but obviously nobody was surprised. Milo grinned and walked to shake the principal's hand, then going to stand off of the stage. "For social activities director, we have Cinderella Tremaine. Congratulations." Cindy beamed and followed Milo's examples, earning many cheers. Quasimodo went on to win secretary, and Lottie won treasurer. I gave her a large smile as she fanned herself, slightly surprised she won. "For vice president, Jane Porter." Jane went up, and the only people left were me, Vanessa, Snow, and Arthur.</p><p>"And, the moment you've all been waiting for, for student council president of the sophomore class..." Mickey paused for effect, making me sit on the edge of my seat. My palms were sweating, my eyes wide with anticipation. "Tiana Orleans!"</p><p>I gasped, then smiled, walking up to Mickey to shake his hand. "Congratulations, Miss Orleans."</p><p>"Thank you, Principal Mickey," I said gratefully. I looked into the crowd, seeing my friends celebrating wildly. I went to sit down next to Jane, congratulating her as she did to me.</p><p>When we all flooded out of the auditorium, Mulan, Merida, Elsa, Judy, Nani, Poca, Esmerelda, Jasmine, Anya, Kida, Meg, Tiger, Nala, Lottie, Anna, Rapunzel, Moana, Ariel, and Belle all came cheering towards me. They drowned me in congratulations, and I could not stop smiling. I was class president. </p><p> </p><p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>Once we walked home after a very exciting day, people were crowding around the bulletin board and talking loudly. "What is going on?" Ariel asked, squinting to try to read the board.</p><p>We approached it, and Rapunzel, Anna, and I were able to squeeze through the people due to our smallness. I looked at the board, which read:</p><p>SOPHOMORE GAME NIGHT!</p><p>September 30, 9 pm to 12 am</p><p>Join your classmates in the lobby for a night of fun!<br/>Twister, Jenga, Telephone, board games, and more!</p><p>"That sounds fun!" Rapunzel said. "We should do it!" I smiled and nodded, Anna agreeing. We returned to Ariel, Belle, and Jane to report the news back to them. "Yeah, sounds great! I just hope we won't have that much homework over that weekend, though," Belle said thoughtfully.</p><p>Once we dropped off her and Jane in their dorm, Anna said, "We have to have a sleepover soon!"</p><p>I furrowed my brows. "We...we have a sleepover every day? We live together," I stated confusedly.</p><p>"Yeah, but we have slumber parties where we have snacks and watch sappy movies and paint nails wearing face masks and stuff," Punzie explained to me as Ariel unlocked our door for us.</p><p>"Oh. That does sound fun," I agreed, smiling as we walked into the room.</p><p>"How about the seventh of October?" Punz suggested, looking at her handmade calendar on the wall.</p><p>We all shrugged. "Okay," we agreed.</p><p>"I can't wait!" Anna squealed. I giggled at her enthusiasm as she flopped on the bed.  </p><p>Since it was still Wednesday, we all started our homework despite the excitement that day. I couldn't wait for what was ahead. </p><p> </p><p>HERCULES'S POV</p><p>I saw Meg Hades sitting in the lounge, looking bored at her phone. All the chairs empty around her, I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was about to do this.</p><p>I walked up to the area, sitting in the chair next to her. She looked up. "Well, hello Wonderboy," she greeted, smirking. She placed down her phone and leaned back in the armchair. "Can I help you?"</p><p>I smiled, rubbing my neck. "Uhm," I coughed. "Can I sit here?" I asked, even though I had already sat down.</p><p>She looked down, trying to push down her smile as she remembered the first time we had spoken. "Whatever," she recited.</p><p>I cleared my throat. "So, um," I mumbled, nervous, "our first football game is in a week. I was wondering if you were coming?"</p><p>Meg raised an eyebrow. "That's usually not my thing. I'd rather stay in and maybe order some Chinese food, that's the best. But maybe. See Wonderboy himself in action."</p><p>I chuckled. "Well, I would love it if you came," I told her, standing up. I began to walk away after flashing a smile at her, but she stopped me.</p><p>"Hercules!" she called, standing up too. I turned around in anticipation.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>She opened her mouth, but decided against it and closed it. "Never mind," she concluded, looking disappointed. "See ya, Herc." She saluted me and I smiled, saluting back. </p><p> </p><p>VIOLET'S POV</p><p>The next day, Thursday, I woke up too late. Rosetta and Eliwony, my roommates, were always ones for their looks and waking up early and had completely forgotten to wake me up. I was an extremely deep sleeper, so I was able to sleep through their tedious and loud routines. Eliwony often shook me awake right before they left for their friends, but maybe I had even slept through that, even.</p><p>Anyway, I woke up at 7:20, ten minutes before I was supposed to leave. I had rushed to put black ripped leggings, boots, and oversized sweater, adding a beanie because I had no time to shower. Grabbing my purple backpack, I rushed out the door. I walked straight to school, not eating breakfast as always.</p><p>I arrived in my homeroom just on time, taking my seat in the back and shielding my face with my hair. I put my sleeves over my hands and looked down, avoiding the daunting stares of the classmates surrounding me. I put in my earbuds and slipped into the music, muffling the talking around me.</p><p>"Hey," I heard someone say close to me. I kept my head down, continuing the music because I assumed no one was talking to me, as always. "Hey," the person repeated louder. I looked up.</p><p>There stood a boy with jet-black hair, gelled into a peculiar pointy style. He was scratching the back of his head as he looked at me shyly. I slowly took out an earbud, staring at him. "Hi?" I said quietly, dumbfounded at the thought of someone talking to me willingly.</p><p>"Um, I'm Wilbur," he told me, giving a small smile.</p><p>I looked at him, squinting my eyes and my face heating up. "Violet," I replied. "Um, I'm Violet." </p><p>"Nice to meet you, Violet," he said, sitting down and grinning at me. After a couple of moments, he added, pointing to my phone, "I love that song."</p><p>I looked at the new song, "The Good, The Bad and The Dirty" by Panic! At The Disco and chuckled. "Yeah, me too." I got nervous, not knowing what else to say, so I just fanned my hair back over my eyes and went back to listening, feeling awful for ignoring him.</p><p>When we finished homeroom, I stood up briskly and hurried out of the classroom, hearing a faint "goodbye" from Wilbur through the muffled earbuds. Not wanting to seem awkward or clumsy, I kept facing forward and pretended not to hear him. When I had escaped, I let out a breath, thankful for avoiding making a fool of myself. </p><p> </p><p>By the time lunch rolled around, I had answered a question wrong in class, had tripped in the middle of the hall, and blushed ferociously when Robin Hood had flashed me a lopsided grin. Today was going horribly.</p><p>I was standing in the line for lunch, waiting to get the mac and cheese when I heard loud, obnoxious laughing getting nearer. "Out of the way, emo," Adam Beast told me harshly, shoving me to the side to grab three slices of pizza.</p><p>"Should you really be eating mac and cheese, Parr? Who knows what's under that giant shirt," Gaston said snidely, looking me up and down.</p><p>I looked down, my hair hanging in front of my burning up face. I swallowed, my eyes stinging. "Hey!" I heard someone yell. "Leave her alone."</p><p>I looked up. There stood Wilbur, looking defiantly up at the two jocks. They both smirked at each other, then looked back at Wilbur. They gave one short laugh, and then Gaston raised his fist and punched Wilbur's cheek.</p><p>The people around us gasped, me included. Adam and Gaston chortled and then walked away, leaving Wilbur with a red, swollen cheekbone. "Are you okay?" I asked timidly, stepping up to him.</p><p>He was holding his face in his hands, but he looked up at me and nodded. "I – I'm fine. Are you okay?"</p><p>I gave a small smile. "Come on," I said, grabbing his sleeve and leading him through the cafeteria. I walked into the girls' bathroom, thinking that it'd be okay since this was kind of an emergency. I soaked a wad of paper towels in cold water and put it on Wilbur's cheek.</p><p>We locked eyes for a second, but I looked away uncomfortably, a blush creeping onto my cheeks for the thousandth time today. When Wilbur took over holding the paper, I leaned against the sink, crossing my arms protectively. "Um, are you sure you're okay? That looks kind of bad," I asked again, concerned.</p><p>Wilbur cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm okay," he assured me.</p><p>"Thanks for doing that," I said quietly, looking through my hair at him.</p><p>Wilbur looked at me softly, bringing down the wad. "Of course. They shouldn't have done that."</p><p>After that, I took him to the principal's office to tell him what happened. "You'd better get to your fifth period, honey," Minnie had told me, right before the tardy bell rang.</p><p>"Thanks, Violet," he said from his waiting chair.</p><p>"Thanks to you too," I replied, smiling at him and then running to my math class, my hair flying behind me. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello! How'd you like chapter nine? What's happening with Vanessa and her mom? Tiana is class president! Yay! Game night sounds fun, doesn't it? We'll see... Meg and Hercules are talking, so what's going to happen there? Violet met Wilbur, and he kind of sort of saved her? Hmm... Sorry, I'm getting worse at these questions.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite food?</p><p>My Answer: Cake. And ice cream. And all carbs, carbs are cool. And basically any food, I love every food.</p><p>Anyway, I almost didn't publish this on schedule, but I did! Aren't you proud? I haven't edited this chapter, so please excuse any mistakes.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
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    <p>ESMERALDA'S POV</p><p>"Oh, come on, Esme! It'll be fun! You can finish your math homework later. We only get one game night a year! This is the first one ever!" Charlotte cried, pulling on my arm. I was stretching my middle splits with my TheraBand, writing down solutions to polynomial problems.</p><p>"Stop, Charlotte," I laughed. "Hey Tiana, did you get 5vw – 4w + 4 for number three?"</p><p>My other roommate glanced over at her paper on her desk. "Yep."</p><p>"You two are so boring," Charlotte whined, flopping on the ground, defeated. Tiana chuckled at her.</p><p>"I'll go, Lottie," Tiana finally gave in.</p><p>Lottie perked up. "Really?"</p><p>I sighed, and then gave in. "Fine...I'll go too."</p><p>Charlotte clapped excitedly, squealing. "Oh, wonderful! Get your pajamas on, girls, we're going to play some games!"</p><p>Tiana and I shared a look, trying not to smile at her enthusiasm. Tia slipped on her mint pajama set, along with fuzzy socks. I put on a pair of short and comfy t-shirt, also stepping into my slippers. Eventually, Charlotte emerged from the bathroom in a pink nightgown, lined in lace. Her hair was still in perfect curls, and she was still wearing elaborate blue eye shadow and pink lipstick, complete with a beauty mark. "How do I look?" she asked, puffing her pale face in powder.</p><p>"Is this a beauty pageant?" I asked, laughing. "Because if so, fabulous."</p><p>"Oh, shush," she said, swatting at me. "I have to look my best. You never know who's going to be down there."</p><p>"Who do you want to be down there?" Tiana inquired, giving her a smirk.</p><p>Lottie looked at her through the mirror. "No one," she responded quickly, going back to fixing her hair. Tiana raised her eyebrows but went to texting.</p><p> </p><p>Soon, all three of us were walking down to the lobby of the dorm building, Lottie chattering excitedly about what games we were going to play. When we entered the lobby, Cinderella was there to greet us as the new social activities director. </p><p>"Hello, ladies, Miss President," she greeted, nodding politely to Tiana. I could see my friend smile humbly. "We are just about to start a game of Twister, and there are drinks and snacks over on that table. Just tell me if you need anything!"</p><p>We thanked her and moved on, but suddenly both Tia and Lottie left me for some other friends. "Tiana! Over here!" Judy had shouted, waving to her. Not liking Judy very much, I chose not to follow my Tiana over to her. </p><p>"Hey, Tink, sugar!" Lottie had called, rushing over to join Tinkerbell by the crackers.</p><p>And, suddenly, I was all alone. I sighed, looking around at everyone around me. They were all engaged in conversation. I walked over to the drink table, where Aladdin and Nick Wilde were sneaking around the punch bowl. "What are you two doing?" I asked, scooping up a cozy mug of hot cocoa, adorning it with marshmallows, whipped cream, and a peppermint stick at the hot cocoa bar.</p><p>"Sh!" Aladdin warned me, chuckling. "We're trying to spike it!"</p><p>I rolled my eyes at them, but then saw Lady Tremaine approaching them with a menacing glare. "Yeah, good luck with that," I muttered. I hurried away before I could get caught up in the mess.</p><p>I stood with my mug of cocoa, watching people gather around the multiple Twister mats that were duct taped together. "Your first time too?" someone said, startling me. I looked over at a blond guy, calmly overseeing the debacle of people running around, trying to find a place to stand.  </p><p>"What?" I asked, moving away slightly.</p><p>"Your first time. At a game night," he repeated, motioning to the scene.</p><p>I squinted my eyes at him, unsure of whether he was serious or not. "This is the first game night we've ever had."</p><p>The boy looked at me and paused. "Touche." After we watched the game begin, with Vidia calling out the colors and limbs, he said, "Phoebus."</p><p>I raised my eyebrow. "Esmeralda," I replied shortly, turning back to the game. Already, Kida was falling over Rapunzel.</p><p>Phoebus chatted me up a bit, which I found unimpressive as I snipped back witty remarks, until I finally left to get some vegetables. I could barely remember what we had talked about when I left. I scanned the healthy foods. My hot cocoa was my sweets for the day, because I needed to watch my dancer's body. I took dance classes after school every day for four hours, plus coaching and choreographing for the dance team.</p><p>As I watched people take out Apples to Apples, I moved to the side to let someone shorter than me get a donut. I looked down at him, and was surprised when I saw a hunchback, with a...well, deformed face.</p><p>"Excuse me. Sorry," I said, moving out of the way further.</p><p>"Oh, no you're fine," he responded. "Just getting a snack. Krispy Kreme is the best." He grinned, holding up the glazed donut and gave me a friendly wave before returning to his small group of friends. I watched after him, lost in thought.</p><p>"Hey Esmeralda," someone said, startling me. I looked over to Nala, who was munching on a cupcake.</p><p>"Oh, hi Nala," I responded. Since she was popular and seemed to know everyone, I asked, nodding to the kid I had just talked to, "Hey, who's that over there?"</p><p>"The short one? That's Quadismodo Frollo. He's Dr. Frollo's adopted son, and I feel bad for him for that," Nala said, looking at him with an expression of pity. I wrinkled my nose, also feeling bad for anyone who had to spend more than a class period with that pervert.</p><p>"Thanks," I said, nodding and taking another sip of hot cocoa.</p><p>"Are you going to play anything?" she asked me, nodding to a game of Cards Against Humanity.</p><p>"Probably not," I sighed. "I'll probably leave early. Lottie dragged me here, and I have to finish my math homework because I have all-day rehearsals over the weekend."</p><p>Nala nodded in understanding, also being a dancer. "All right. Well, good luck. I'm going to go join them," she said, chuckling at Anya, Dmitri, and Flynn who were having a contest of balancing Oreos on their noses. I laughed too and bid goodbye to her.</p><p> </p><p>After watching the victories and defeats of the first game night in the sophomore dorm building, I had finished my cocoa and had decided to retire to my room. I walked through the people who were now playing Jenga. Right as I neared the stairwell, I heard someone running up behind me. I turned to see Quasimodo, panting. I gave him a surprised look but then smiled. "Hey," I said to him.</p><p>He grinned nervously. "Hi, um, I'm Quasimodo," he said, holding out a hand.</p><p>I took it. "Esmeralda," I told him.</p><p>"Going so soon?" he asked, eyes darting to the stairs.</p><p>"Yeah," I responded. "I have homework to do, and then a busy weekend. I wish I could stay."</p><p>"Oh," he said, looking down. "Yeah, totally. I do t -- I mean, um, goodnight then."</p><p>I smiled at him and turned to climb back up the stairs, a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach.</p><p> </p><p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>"Jenga!" Rapunzel shouted as the block tower tumbled to the floor.</p><p>"This is getting boring," Anna whined, sitting back on her butt.</p><p>"Agreed," said Jasmine.</p><p>There was a lull in excitement, until Adella suggested, "What about Spin the Bottle?"</p><p>There was a whoop of agreement throughout the room and all of the students began forming a huge circle, pushing aside couches and coffee tables.</p><p>I took a seat on one of the chairs outside of the circle, crossing my arms uncomfortably. "Come on, Moana!" Ariel called to me, patting the empty spot next to her. I swallowed.</p><p>"No, thanks," I replied. "I'll sit out of this one."</p><p>"Aww, why?" she whined playfully, pulling a disappointed face. I shrugged, hoping she'd drop the subject.</p><p>"Just...I'm fine here," I told her, tucking some hair behind my ear.</p><p>Ariel shrugged and turned back to the center of the circle. "I wish you'd play," she commented, smiling at me.</p><p>I blushed, and suddenly a huge mane of orange hair plopped onto a couch beside me. I looked over.</p><p>"Please, Merida?" Rapunzel begged her. The girl named Merida shook her head.</p><p>"I told you, it's not my thing. I'm not one for kissing or any of that bogus," the girl replied in a very strong Scottish accent. She glanced over at me. "I'm guessing it's not your thing either?"</p><p>I grinned and shook my head. However, that wasn't the real reason I didn't want to play. The truth was, I hadn't had my first kiss yet. I mean, I was only 15. And I didn't want my first kiss to be wasted on someone disgusting, like Gaston or Vanessa.</p><p>The game began, and the players had to stand up to get to the Coke bottle and spin it since the circle was so big. First was Aurora, who spun the bottle which landed on her best friend Cinderella who was strewn across her boyfriend's lap. I could see Aurora blush and Cinderella sat up, looking down bashfully. She stood up and walked over to her friend.</p><p>"You two don't have to – " Philip, Aurora's boyfriend started, laughing uncomfortably.</p><p>"It's okay," they both interrupted, smiling. They leaned in and gave each other a quick kiss on the lips, which I wasn't expecting. There were a few douchy whistles from guys and the blondes blushed, hurrying back to their seats and not meeting the other's eyes.</p><p>Philip spun next, simply giving a sweet girl named Faline a small kiss on the cheek. Everyone continued going around the circle smoothly, oftentimes people giving out cheek pecks and only a couple drama-inducing kisses on the lips.</p><p>Then it was Ariel's time to spin. I sat up, watching in anticipation to see whom she had to kiss. The bottle landed on Eric, and I felt myself deflate. I watched her glumly as she blushed, biting her cheek. However, Vanessa came to save the day. "Uh, no," she cut in as Eric attempted to stand up. "You are not kissing her. No way. Sit down, Eric." She yanked him back to a sitting position, earning an annoyed look from him.</p><p>"Get off of me, Nessa," he muttered, shaking her hands off his arms. But he still sat down, casting a remorseful look towards Ariel. She looked down ashamedly, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her legs.</p><p>The circle continued, and I laughed when Rapunzel gave a small kiss on Mulan's nose, but I couldn't stop looking at Ariel who was still apparently sad. I stood up slowly and went over to her, tapping her shoulder. She looked up at me. "Can you come to the bathroom with me?" I asked, trying to seem like this was normal and that I actually had to pee.</p><p>She nodded and stood up, following me to the fancy lobby bathroom. I sat myself on the sink counter, turning to her. She sat in one of the waiting chairs and was still hugging herself.</p><p>"Are you okay?" I asked, furrowing my brows.</p><p>Ariel sighed. "Yeah. I guess...I mean, that was my chance. It would've been amazing. Not perfect and romantic like I had always imagined, put a kiss nonetheless. But Vanessa freaking ruined it. She's always ruining everything! I wish she'd just...disappear," she ranted.</p><p>I nodded, looking at my knees. We sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the loud shouts and jeers from outside. "Do you want to go back? To the dorm?" I asked her softly. Ariel was curled up in the armchair, twisting her red hair around her fingers. She sniffed and glanced at me.</p><p>"Yeah," she said finally, sighing and standing up. "Let's just get some ice cream or something." I smiled and told her that we had ice cream in the freezer. I took her hand and lead her out of the bathroom. I glanced at the group of people, where they were making a ruckus over Aladdin and Tiger Lily, who had begun making out.</p><p>"They're a couple," Ariel whispered to me and I stared, wide-eyed and slightly disgusted. Oh. I nodded.</p><p>I snuck her past the crowd of people who were all distracted, and we went up the elevator to our floor. As we walked down the empty hallway, I asked softly, "Um...so, you really like him, huh?"</p><p>Ariel's eyes flitted to me, and she fiddled her thumbs. "Yeah," she confessed, a light blush creeping across her cheeks. "He's just so wonderful. He's so kind, he's helpful, he's caring...and his eyes are so beautiful...and his hair..."</p><p>I pressed my lips together and played with my thumbs, my hair falling in front of my face. I blinked repeatedly, making a small noise of conformation. </p><p>I opened the door for her and Ariel fell onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow. I sat on my bed too, after handing her a pint of cookies and cream ice cream and a spoon.</p><p>When a couple moments passed, she murmured a quiet, "Thank you, Moana. Thank you for saving me."</p><p>I looked over at her and gave a small smile. "You're welcome, Ariel." </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>LILO'S POV</p><p>"Lilo!" I heard someone call through the chatter of people going back up to their dorm rooms. I looked over the tops of heads, and I saw my older sister Nani waving to me. I waved back and then turned to one of my best friends, Vanellope.</p><p>"I'm going to talk to my sister, I'll be just a minute," I told her, raising my voice over the talking. She nodded and stole off to the candy table, looking to get any leftovers for our dorm. I fought my way through the crowd towards my sister.</p><p>Nani was my older sister, but we were still in the same grade despite being 11 months apart. She was born in September and I was in July, and we both met the school's cut off mark to be in the same grade.</p><p>"Hey, Lilo," she said, ruffling my hair. "Did you enjoy yourself?"</p><p>"Yeah! I won at poker, did you see?" I said.</p><p>Nani laughed. "No, but good job! Did you play Spin the Bottle?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "No, definitely not. Did you?" I raised my eyebrows at her suggestively.</p><p>Nani blushed. "Maybe..." She looked over to David Kawena, her best friend and also, I knew, her crush.</p><p>"Oh my god!" I shouted. "Did you kiss David?"</p><p>"Sh!" Nani said frantically, waving her hands to shush me. Then she sighed. "No. No, I didn't. I kissed Judy on the cheek."</p><p>I deflated. "Aw, I'm sorry Nans," I said, rubbing her arm. "But at least you didn't get stuck kissing some slob."</p><p>She nodded, sighing again. "I can't believe I did that...Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow? How about at the diner for lunch?" she suggested, smiling.</p><p>"Yeah!" I agreed. "Just pick me up from my dorm whenever you want. See you then, Nani! Love you!" I bounced away from her, up the stairs and to my dorm after noticing that Vanellope was already gone.</p><p>I unlocked the door, entering my dorm and being greeted with Mary Gibbs and Vanellope, my roommates. "Hey, Boo," I said to Mary, who was braiding her hair. It was the nickname she went by. "Did you finish your science homework? Party pooper." She had stayed behind from game night to do homework, and Vanellope and I were still teasing her about it. She was usually the party person from our group, so for her to stay behind was unusual. </p><p>She chuckled at me. "Yes, I did. I am going to bed early tonight too!" She pumped her fists and began changing into her pajamas. I did the same, with Vanellope remaining on her laptop.</p><p>"Oh, I brought you some candy, Boo. Here," she said, throwing a handful of sweets from her sweatshirt pocket to her. Boo shrieked as the wrapped candies cascaded over her head.</p><p>"Thanks V," she said, unwrapping a Jolly Rancher and popping it in her mouth. She went into the bathroom to do her nightly routine, and I followed.</p><p>When I emerged, Boo was crawling into her bed. She was just about to turn off her lamp on her bedside table, but then she jumped up. "I almost forgot," she muttered to herself, walking over to the closet and opening the doors, revealing all of our clothes. Then she walked back over to her bed and enveloped herself in the pink covers.</p><p>I looked at her quizzically. "What did you do that for?" I asked. She glanced at me.</p><p>"Oh, the closet? I do that every night. I guess since I go to sleep so late you guys never notice," she replied, sitting up on her elbows.</p><p>Vanellope and I shared a look. "Yeah...but why?" asked Vanellope.</p><p>Boo looked down, blushing. "It's silly," she said quietly. "And you probably won't believe me anyway."</p><p>"Oh, come on. Try me," I responded. They knew I had a seemingly alien dog as a pet, so I wasn't one to judge.</p><p>Boo shifted her eyes and then threw the covers off of her, sitting up and crossing her legs. "Okay. So, I always have this reoccurring dream from when I was about two. I actually don't know if it's a dream or not, but if felt pretty real." </p><p>Vanellope and I glanced at each other again before she continued. "So, I got into a...monster universe somehow. There were two monsters that I made friends with. A big, furry blue one with purple dots – I called him Kitty – and a small round green Cyclops that I think was named Mike. They called me Boo. And all the monsters I saw looked pretty friendly. Goofy, even. But we went on adventures and even though I can't remember them, I know they were fun. But then...Kitty returned me back to my room. He disappeared through my closet door. And I never saw him again." She clutched at her pillow and looked up at us.</p><p>"So..." I began. "You keep your closet door open in case Kitty comes back?" Boo nodded. I cast a look over at the closet, which seemed much different now. </p><p>"Well, that's cool," Vanellope exclaimed, standing up and stretching. I laughed at her bluntness. "Why does cool stuff always happen to you two?"</p><p>I smiled and got into bed too. I stared at the dark closet for a couple moments more, my imagination going wild with scary creatures before saying, "You know, it is kind of creepy."</p><p>I looked over at Boo's bed, but she was asleep already. I chuckled to myself and closed my eyes, drifting away into visions of purple and blue polka dotted monsters. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello! Sorry for this late chapter, I decided to update I Am Disney this weekend because I was having some writers block for this one. But it's here! Things will pick up again soon, I just kind of need to get my ball rolling again. </p><p>Anyway, we've got our first Esmeralda and Lilo POV! We have some new characters: Boo, Vanellope, and Lilo so this'll be interesting. Esmeralda met two new guys tonight...hm... Ariel got so close to kissing the love of her life. Moana helped and comforted her best friend in a time of need, but is there something more there?</p><p>Question of the chapter: What's your favorite Disney/Pixar movie?</p><p>My answer: I love Up and Wall-E! I've seen them only a couple times, but I still love them!</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>JACK'S POV</p><p>"I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask her out today. After sixth period...or do you think it should be earlier, so I just get it over with?" Hiccup was pacing in front of me in our dorm room, looking intently at the floor. Hans, our other roommate, had already left. He usually does, leaving ominously in the morning before either Hiccup or I even wake up, and we don't know where he goes. But that is unimportant. Now Hiccup was worrying about asking his best friend Merida out, practically wearing the floor out from underneath him.</p><p>I shrugged, laughing at his nervousness. "Just ask her whenever you feel is the right time. Honestly, man, don't stress over it. Be the three C's: calm, cool, and collected. That's my motto," I told him, pulling on shoes and checking my hair in the mirror.</p><p>Hiccup gave me a look. "Easy for you to say. You have a girlfriend already!"</p><p>"And how do you think I picked her up?" I replied, smirking at him. Hiccup rolled his eyes and went back to pacing.</p><p>"Look," I said after a few tense minutes. "Pretend I'm Merida. I would put on a wig but I don't want to mess up my hair. But pretend I'm her. Ask me out."</p><p>Hiccup glanced up at me again, raising his eyebrows. "What?"</p><p>"You heard me. Ask me, as Merida, out."</p><p>Hiccup cleared his throat and blinked. "Um...okay. Um. So, Merid – " He met my eyes, and then burst into laughter.</p><p>I grinned. "What?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well what.</p><p>"What...what are you doing?" he gasped out, clutching his stomach in laughter. "Is that your Merida face?"</p><p>I had been pulling a face, to best mimic Merida by widening my eyes and raising my eyebrows. I nodded, starting to laugh too.</p><p>It took a while for Hiccup to compose himself, but he finally did. He began again, trying not to crack a smile. "So Merida, I was, um, wondering – "</p><p>"Calm, cool, and collected," I repeated to him, dropping my Merida act.</p><p>Hiccup took a deep breath and then said at an unimaginable speed, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the homecoming football game with me tonight. As a date. And I hope it's not weird or anything, because we're best friends, but I really really like you. You're really pretty and smart and wonderful and strong – "</p><p>"Okay, okay," I interrupted, holding up my hands. "I'm not really Merida, you know that, right? And slow down! She'll never know what you said if you say it that fast."</p><p>Hiccup laughed and hit my arm. "Let's go," he said. "We'll be late." We walked out the door with our things in hand, down to the cafeteria to grab breakfast.</p><p>From there, I separated from my friend and got a chocolate croissant from the pastries section. I waited by the door, leaning against the wall and watching the various students talk and eat their breakfast. Suddenly Elsa appeared by my side, holding her books and grinning. "Hey, you," she said, poking my arm.</p><p>"Hey," I responded, beaming and kissing her cheek. "How are you?"</p><p>She replied, "Good. You ready for the homecoming game tonight?"</p><p>I snickered, remembering Hiccup's panicking this morning. "Yep. Hiccup is planning on asking Merida out. But whether he does it or not is questionable."</p><p>Elsa chuckled. "I hope he does. Merida needs someone to try to control her more. Like a boyfriend. They'd be really cute together."</p><p>I nodded as we started to make our way towards the school, heading into the day.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>HICCUP'S POV</p><p>The bell finally rang, signaling the end of math class. I stood up, beginning to pack up my supplies, Merida mimicking me. "I have so much homework for the weekend," she complained, shoving her notebook into her bag.</p><p>"Me too," I replied, groaning. "Do teachers not know that we have lives outside of school?"</p><p>She laughed, agreeing with me. As she slung her backpack over her shoulder, she said, "I have to pee so bad."</p><p>I chuckled as I zipped up my bag. The butterflies in my stomach began zooming around even faster as I took a breath, about to finally ask her out. I couldn't meet her eyes, much less look at her, so I stared at my hands.</p><p>"So, Merida...I know this may be a little weird, but I don't want it to be. I was just...I was just wondering, uh, if you wanted to go to the – " I looked up hopefully to see her reaction, but Merida was gone. A pit formed in the bottom of my stomach in disappointment. She had walked away from me. Was I really that bad?</p><p>I looked around quickly, trying to spot her orange hair. I saw her in between Meg, Pocahontas, and Kida, who then disappeared into the bathroom. I sighed, hanging my messenger bag over my shoulder. I should've known this would happen. Why would she want to be with me?</p><p>"Hiccup!" I heard someone call. I turned to see Peter, a smile on his face. "Hey, man. Want to go to the football game with Wendy, Alice, Jack, Elsa, and I tonight?"</p><p>I pressed my lips together. "Yeah, sure...I'll think about it."</p><p>Peter nodded, but he seemed to be a little concerned for me. I gave a small smile as he said, patting my shoulder, "All right. Just text me." And then he walked away, leaving me alone in the busy hallway.</p><p>"So how'd it go?" Jack asked the moment I walked into our dorm room. Elsa was lying on his bed too, her legs on top of his as she scrolled through her phone.</p><p>"How did what go?" Hans asked nosily, spinning around in his chair.</p><p>I shot him an annoyed look, still upset from the past minutes. Ignoring him, I said to Jack while chucking down my bag, "She walked away. I started asking her and then she was gone."</p><p>Elsa sat up and Jack's jaw dropped. "What?" they both exclaimed, flabbergasted.</p><p>"She just walked away? Right in the middle of you asking?" Jack asked. Hans was looking between us two, trying to figure out what was happening. I nodded.</p><p>"But it could be just a misunderstanding," Elsa suggested, concerned. I nodded sadly, looking down and trying to make the best of things.</p><p>"Maybe she didn't hear me or something. But maybe she just thinks I'm just that much of an idiot."</p><p>Jack shook his head. Elsa said comfortingly, "Hiccup, I'm sure it is just a mistake. Merida would never do that, especially to you."</p><p>I nodded, sitting down at my desk. "Are you still going to the game?" Jack asked hopefully.</p><p>I inhaled. "Probably not...I don't want to embarrass myself again. Plus I have homework."</p><p>"Oh come on, Hic! It'll be fun! You don't have to see Merida if you don't want to."</p><p>"We'll see."</p><p>Four hours later, my cheeks were being smeared with red and gold paint, complete with a black nose by Wendy. "There!" she said, putting the face paint away and smiling.</p><p>"You look great, Hiccup!" Rapunzel said, ruffling my hair. She had joined us because her friends weren't going, but she wanted to. She and Jack were really good friends who had met last year, and Jack was trying to incorporate her to our group of friends.</p><p>"Thanks," I said, dodging away from her hand.</p><p>We were all kind of late already, so the seven of us rushed out the door. Hans was following annoyingly behind me.</p><p>Wendy and Peter had linked arms and Jack and Elsa were holding hands. Alice, Rapunzel and I hung around in the back, awkwardly tagging along. "How do we always end up as the extra wheels?" she laughed, looking at the two couples.</p><p>I chuckled, agreeing. "Right? It's getting kind of pathetic." Alice smiled and made a mocking sad face, but then began dancing down the hall, singing her own little tune and jumping around. Rapunzel joined her, singing a song I didn't know. I laughed at them, glad that something had made me smile today.</p><p>We approached the football field and I could already hear the crowds roaring. The lights flared in my eyes and we entered, using the tickets Peter had previously bought. As we looked up and down the bleachers for a seat, I heard someone calling my name. "Hiccup!" a familiar voice yelled. I groaned.</p><p>Jack attempted to save me though. "Hey, man, let's go over here," he said, casting a look to the voice and taking my arm to lead me away from her.</p><p>"HICCUP!" it screamed again. I'd know that voice anywhere. I risked a glance over, and was met with the familiar, beautiful aqua eyes I was expecting. Merida grinned at me. "There's some seats over here!" she shouted, pointing to the empty bench she had saved with a couple jackets.</p><p>She looked so hopeful and excited, I turned to Jack and said, "There's probably nowhere else to sit. Let's just go sit there. It's fine."</p><p>Jack gave me one last look but I led my friends down the bleachers towards Merida, who was grinning. "Hey, Hic! I'm glad you came. Hi, everyone!" she said to the others. She stood up to give me a hug.</p><p>We sat down, and I was forced to sit right next to Merida. I stayed pressed against Alice awkwardly.</p><p>"I'm going to get some hotdogs and stuff. Want anything, guys?" Peter asked down the row.</p><p>We all placed our orders, but I didn't get anything. I was feeling kind of nauseous, so I knew greasy snack shack foods weren't going to help me.</p><p>I saw the football players beginning to line up, and Merida beside me shrieked in excitement. She absolutely loved football. The game started, the players rushing towards each other. To be honest, I had no idea how football worked. Merida had tried to explain it to me several times, but I just always pretended to understand. At games, I cheered when she did and was disappointed when she was.</p><p>When Peter returned, I passed Merida's Coke, chili cheese hot dog, and onion rings to her. "Thanks," she said, piling them on her lap. "Why didn't you get anything?"</p><p>"Not hungry," I answered. She shrugged and turned back to the game.</p><p>Very soon, the Dreamworks team scored a goal. Merida yelled some curse words at them, and Alice muttered, "Aw, darn." I watched the scoreboard update: Disney, 0, Dreamworks, 7.</p><p>"Want some?" she asked, holding them out as an offer. I looked at the food and her friendly face, and finally gave in. "Fine," I said, taking an onion ring. "Thank you."</p><p>"Anytime.... Hey, you were going to ask me something today, after math. Sorry I walked away, I didn't hear you start to talk and I really had to pee. What was it you wanted to tell me?"</p><p>I cleared my throat as it suddenly clogged up, my face heating. "Um. I – I forgot," I finally let out.</p><p>Merida's face kind of fell, and she said, "Okay. Well, if you remember, just tell me." I gave a small nod. I was quiet for a while, a pit in my stomach, until I got up to leave the bleachers.</p><p>"Where are you going?" Merida and Alice asked at the same time. I turned back to them.</p><p>"I just need some air," I told them, awkwardly shuffling over the people's legs.</p><p>"We're... outside," Jack stated slowly. I ignored him and climbed down the stairs, walking alongside the field. As I placed one foot in front of the other, lost in my own head, the crowd suddenly roared, causing me to jump out of my skin. I looked to the field where the cheerleaders were clapping and ruffling their pompoms, and apparently our team had just scored.</p><p>I went out of the stadium, leaving the thundering crowd behind me and taking a deep breath. I stood behind the stands in the darkness, examining the trash-covered ground and flinching at the occasional stomping on the metal bleachers.</p><p>And then Merida entered my mind. Merida and her freckles. Merida and her turquoise eyes. Her laugh. Her personality. Her sense of advenutre. Her smile.</p><p>I sighed. What was I going to do?</p><p>"Hey Hiccup?" I startled, my heart pounding as I looked around. Alice was walking towards me cautiously, the lights and shadows flashing on her face through the slats of the bleachers.</p><p>I waved absently, staring at my shoes. "Are you okay?" she asked.</p><p>"Yeah," I told her, falsely smiling.</p><p>"You sure? Jack told me about what happened and you looked a little uncomfortable." I nodded, exhaling. She continued, brushing her blonde hair behind her shoulders. "We can go back to our dorms if you want. To be honest, I don't find football that interesting."</p><p>I grinned at her. "Yeah. Let's go." We walked from the stands and the chattering of the crowd dimmed behind us.</p><p>"So. Do you plan to ask her out again?" Alice asked me as we neared our building, referring to Merida.</p><p>I sighed. "I don't know. Is it even worth it?"</p><p>"Well, yeah. If you told her how you really feel, you'd be happier and less stressed."</p><p>"But what if she doesn't feel the same way? I don't want to ruin our friendship," I said, shaking my head.</p><p>"Well, even if you do lose your best friend, you always have me and Rapunzel and Jack and Peter," she reassured me. I smiled at her again, a feeling of comfort rising in my chest.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>When we got in the elevator, Alice spoke. "Do you want to go up to my dorm? Wendy is at the game and Tink is out with Kuzco. We could have a movie night!"</p><p>I thought for a moment. "Sure. Movie night is much more my speed."</p><p>Alice laughed and pushed the button to her floor.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MULAN'S POV</p><p>"Go Mice!" someone yelled at me in the hallway, referring to our school mascot. I smiled uneasily, the anxiety of the upcoming game eating at me by the second.</p><p>I entered my fifth period class, English, and was suddenly met with Giselle. "Hi Mulan!"</p><p>I blushed. "Hey, Giselle," I replied, getting flutters in my chest.</p><p>"Is your wrist okay? I heard you sprained it," she said concernedly, taking it in her small hands. Where her fingers touched, my skin warmed, the fuzzy feeling spreading throughout my body.</p><p>"Yeah, it's fine. Thank you," I told her, dismissing the fact that I had actually gotten the wrap taken off about two weeks ago.</p><p>Giselle beamed at me, patting my hand. "Good! You're playing in the homecoming game tonight, right?" I nodded, my stomach clenching. "Yay! I'll be cheering extra loud for you."</p><p>I smiled. "Thank you." She nodded, her eyes sparkling until Cinderella called her over, causing her to wave cheerily and go join her friend.</p><p>I fell into my seat, chewing my fingernails, a bad habit I did when I get anxious. "You okay?" Silvermist asked in a quiet voice from her seat.</p><p>I looked up at her and responded, "Yeah. Just nervous."</p><p>"You'll be great. Girl power!" she said, giving a small cheer. I flashed a small grin at her until Ms. Poppins stood up, the bell ringing, and class began.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The whole of sixth period, Coach Phil had given the whole team a lecture on group work and it being the most important game of the year and that Dreamworks's team was really good this year and that we had to kick their asses. Hercules told me though that Phil gives the same speech before every game.</p><p>We then ran drills of plays Coach wanted us to do tonight. There was one where I was supposed to make a touchdown by catching a ball thrown by Hercules, but it kept slipping out of my hands. Phil and the rest of the team was getting more frustrated my the minute, me included. </p><p>"Listen up, butterfingers!" Phil yelled at me, stomping down the field after I dropped it for the fifth time. "If you don't make this play at the game, we will lose! And I will never take second place!" I cowered at the small man, my face burning as the guys laughed at me.</p><p>"Sorry," I muttered, looking at the ball in my hands.</p><p>The bell rang to save me from further humiliation, and I trudged to my locker room, a nervous pit in my stomach. Suddenly, though, someone roughly caught my arm and a strangled gasp escaped from my throat. I was spun to face Gaston's tense, red face.</p><p>"If you mess up like that tonight," he spat, a vein in his neck pulsing, "you're dead."</p><p>I grit my teeth and snarled at him, "Let go of me." I shoved his hairy hand off my upper arm, then strode into my locker room, where I let go of my courage and began trembling, taking a large breath before wondering, How long can I go on with this?</p><p>But, he was right. In approximately four hours, I'd be back on that field, possibly failing at the play and losing the game and getting kicked off the team and – No. I had to catch it. I had to.</p><p>I walked back to my dorm room alone, the nerves consuming my body. I unlocked my dorm room to find Kida, Pocahontas, Merida, and Tiger lounging around in my room. "Hey guys," I said, throwing my backpack on the floor and sitting on my pillow next to Merida.</p><p>"Ready for the big game?" Kida asked excitedly, looking up from her blog reading.</p><p>"Is that the only thing people can talk about today?" I sighed exasperatedly, taking off my windbreaker.</p><p>"Sorry. But it is kind of one of the biggest events of the school year," Kida responded, rolling her eyes at me.</p><p>"Great," I retorted. "That makes me feel so much better." The others laughed.</p><p>I pulled out my homework, hoping to finish it quickly before I had to be at the field. "So Mulan," Merida began slyly, leaning over my math worksheet. "I saw you talking to Giselle in English. What about?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes at her. "Nothing, nosy. None of your business anyway." I tried to hold my blush down, and put my head down so she wouldn't notice. But, Merida being Merida, she did.</p><p>"Aww, she's blushing!" she cried, pointing at me and poking my cheek. The others looked up in confusion.</p><p>"Why?" Kida asked, trying to get a peek at me. I sighed, silently cursing Merida in my head.</p><p>"Mulan is in love with Giselle!" cooed Merida to the other girls.</p><p>"I'm not," I responded. </p><p>"Doesn't she have a boyfriend?" Pocahontas said to me. I nodded.</p><p>"Is she even gay?" asked Tiger.</p><p>"I don't know. I can't go up and just ask, 'Hey, are you gay?'" I said, mocking an annoying voice. We all fell silent, in deep thought. </p><p>"I know!" exclaimed Merida. "Ask her if she wants to join the LGBT club!"</p><p>I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, okay! I will," I said. Then, I quickly finished up my homework before heading to the field at around 6:15. The game started at 7.</p><p>"Good luck!" the girls had shouted after me, telling me to meet them at the diner for a celebratory dinner.</p><p>"Hey Mulan," Shang greeted me on the field. We were waiting for Phil, who hadn't arrived yet. "You excited?"</p><p>"More nervous than excited," I replied, giving a shaky smile.</p><p>Shang clapped me on the back. "You'll be fine. Just try to block out the noise – that's the most distracting part." I nodded and then Phil stomped toward the team, looking like smoke was about to come out of his ears.</p><p>"All right, boys – " (he just called us that now, I was no exception anymore) " – I have just had a disastrous day at the café - stupid kids don't know how to handle hot drinks - so you better not let me down or I will crush each and every one of your skulls between my thighs." A few boys sniggered, but Phil shot them a look to shut them up immediately.</p><p>"Now go get dressed so we can run through some more plays," he ordered. We scurried off to our locker rooms and I pulled out my extra small uniform. I looked at my name on the back and my number 2 with a large amount of pride. I had never put on all my padding until today, so I stared at it, confused until I figured out the shoulder and leg pads. I laced up the shoes and tied up my hair in a green ribbon, grabbing my helmet and jogging back to the meeting place.</p><p>"Fa! Show me that you can catch the fricking ball, right?" Coach yelled. I nodded got into position, jittery, and we began. I dodged everyone coming at me as Shang tackled them. I sprinted towards the touchdown line. I stood in position, out of breath, spotting Hercules and watching him as he threw the ball in a perfect spiral towards me. I watched as it pummeled towards me, holding my hands in a diamond shape. I wrapped my fingers around it but suddenly, lost my grip and it fell to the ground.</p><p>All of a sudden, I was thrown to the ground by Adam, his weight knocking the air out of me. My head smacked the grass but I shook it off, regaining my breath. Phil blew his whistle loudly, and Adam got off of me, giving me a smirk.</p><p>"Fine," Phil huffed, gritting his teeth. "We won't do that play unless we absolutely have to." I sighed, kicking the grass until I jogged away to another play position.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The crowd booed as the Dreamworks football team ran onto the field, causing a jolt of nerves to run through my body. We were standing in the entrance to the field ready to run out. Shane looked down at me and said softly, "You can do this, Mulan." I looked at him and nodded, pursing my lips but feeling thankful for the comfort.</p><p>"Let's go boys!" Hercules shouted to us over the crowd, and he led us out into the blinding lights. We were whammed with a roar of cheers, and I almost turned around due to my painful, nervous stomach. But the guys behind me were still running, so I couldn't.</p><p>Before I knew it, we were beginning the first quarter in our positions, Hercules yelling orders. Then I was running towards my opposite, immediately getting tackled to the ground. I felt like I was in a daze as I was pulled up by Eric and I got in position again. It went in a cycle like that until Phil grabbed my wrist at the end of the first quarter.</p><p>"Yo, what's going on, sweetcakes?" he asked quietly and forcefully, scowling.</p><p>"Sorry," I said slowly, still not entirely sure what was happening. "I'm – I'm fine. Sorry."</p><p>" 'Sorry' is not going to win us this game. Get on the bench, sister," he commanded me, pointing to the bench near the water and turning back to his clipboard.</p><p>"What?" I asked in disbelief. No. This cannot be happening. I can't be benched already.</p><p>"Be quiet. I'll let you back in once you've calmed down." I huffed and stomped over to the bench, frowning as Jim excitedly took my place.</p><p>"Mulan!" someone yelled. I turned and saw Giselle waving at me with a pompom, her ginger hair swinging behind her. I mustered a happy wave to her and begrudgingly turned back to the game.</p><p> </p><p>Phil didn't let me back in until the last quarter, when Jim twisted his ankle. I was ushered onto the field by a mixture of boos and cheers, and I could swear I heard Giselle trying to make the cheerleaders join in a chant of my name. My teammates who didn't have a grudge against me (namely everyone but Gaston and Adam) clapped me on the back and murmured some encouraging welcomes.</p><p>I was nervous still, but I was more in the moment and not spaced out like I had been in the first quarter. I got through most of the period unscathed, getting back my normal nimbleness. That is, until we had 33 seconds left and we were down by a touchdown. </p><p>Hercules called for a timeout and we got in a huddle, me purposefully sticking myself between him and Shang and not next to Gaston. "Okay, team," Herc said, out of breath. "We need to act fast. Any suggestions?" Everyone remained silent but glanced over at me. </p><p>"Mulan?" he asked, looking at me expectantly. "Can you make the play?"</p><p>My heart dropped as I scanned the faces of my teammates who all looked hopeful. I could not fail. Without realizing, I looked back at Hercules and nodded, saying, "I'll do it."</p><p>Hercules nodded, smiling, and then shouted, "Let's go Mice!" We all clapped and dispersed, meeting the other team in our places. I looked over at Hercules and he nodded, bending down. For a moment, all I could hear was my heart thumping in my ears, taking over the thundering crowd and Hercules's yells. And all of a sudden, we were running.</p><p>I straightened up, glued to the ground until I earned a push from Shang who was yelling, "GO!" I burst into action, mentally shaking and scolding myself for waiting too long. I sprinted in between the Dreamworks players, who all were being tackled by my team. I jumped over the flailing hands of a guy named Alex who was pinned down by Phoebus and continued to run, dodging and leaping out of the way of our opponents.</p><p>I reached the end zone, out of breath as I scoured the helmets, looking for Hercules's eye contact.</p><p>"AARGH!" someone shouted, startling me. I looked to my left and there was a huge Dreamworks guy called Kai, charging at me with rage in his eyes. I froze, my heart leaping to my throat until Adam abruptly crashed into him, bringing him to the ground and also roaring in rage. I grinned and turned back to the offensive line. </p><p>My eyes shortly locked with Hercules's blue ones, and he nodded and threw the ball forcefully. I took a breath and followed it with my eyes, holding my arms out in anticipation. It pelted towards me and landed in my hands. I grabbed it tightly with all my strength and braced myself for a couple of seconds before I realized – I had the ball still! I had caught it! We won!</p><p>The stands exploded and almost blew out my ears, but I was too happy to notice. I screamed in joy, throwing down the ball and doing my touchdown dance that I had perfected when I was 7.</p><p>My teammates rushed towards me, whooping in celebration and before I knew it, I was hoisted onto their shoulders, Hercules beside me. He beamed at me and said something that I couldn't hear, so I only smiled and laughed blissfully. I watched the crowd flood the stadium and I could barely contain my glee, giving another excited shriek and clapping. I took off my helmet and looked over the sea of ecstatic students before me. Hercules and I were carried to the center of the field and we weren't put down until the field began to clear out. </p><p>Once I was placed on the ground again, I was immediately engulfed in the arms of Shang. "You did it!" he declared, jumping up and down. I laughed.</p><p>"I did! We won!" I replied, joining him in the jumping.</p><p>"Come on," he said, leading me to follow the other boys who were skipping towards the locker rooms. The boys pounded me on the back and some even hugged me until I escaped to my own changing room, the smile still stuck on my face. </p><p>I peeled off the sweaty uniform and shoved it into my duffel bag, planning to wash it before the next game. I placed my helmet in my locker and gazed at it for a while, filled with elation before sighing and slamming the locker. I walked out of the room with my bag where I met Meg, had a short conversation and then made my way to the diner where the celebration dinner was.</p><p>"MULAN!" someone hollered while I was walking through the darkness, replaying the game over and over in my head. I looked up and there were my friends: Tiana, Pocahontas, Kida, Jasmine, Anya, Merida, Tiger, Nani, Nala, Vidia, Silvermist, and Judy.</p><p>"Hey, guys!" I said.</p><p>"You did it! We knew you could, Mulan!" Kida yelled, tackling me in a hug. The others piled on top of me and I giggled. I could not understand all of their words of congratulations, but it made me grin nonetheless.</p><p>We all walked towards Daisy's Diner in a happy, gabbling mess. Pocahontas opened the door for us and we were met with an already over-packed diner, who cheered when I entered. They cleared a way for us to a large booth in the center of the wall, where we all sat down and ordered drinks. I got an extra large Oreo milkshake, throwing away my low-sugar diet for this one night. As the other students reenacted the play, I watched in content as I sipped my milkshake and dug into one of Snow's cakes, reveling in a dream come true.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MEG'S POV</p><p>"3! 2! 1!" the crowd chanted, counting down the seconds of the last quarter in the football game. There was a deafening roar as the game ended, the score being our school winning by 6 points. The Disney students spilled from the bleachers onto the field, rushing to the team and lifting up Hercules and Mulan, who had made the winning throw and catch.</p><p>I gave a smile as my friends pulled me onto the field with them, somehow dragging me right into the center. I watched Hercules who was thanking people humbly, begging his friends to put him down. I gazed at him, unaware that a smile had been creeping across my cheeks. I shook my head suddenly and forced it down, frowning at myself.  </p><p>Feeling suddenly claustrophobic, I slipped back through the rambunctious crowd towards the edge of the field, taking a seat on the sidelines.</p><p>I waited until the students walked home and the football players ran off to the changing rooms. Soon, the boys began streaming back out of it, some exhausted and some still jumping around. Mulan came out, alone, from the girls' locker room.</p><p>"Mulan!" I called, getting her attention. She walked over to me, her grin a mile wide. </p><p>"Hey Meg!"</p><p>"You did amazing," I told her truthfully, giving her a hug.</p><p>"Thank you! You're coming to the celebration dinner at the diner tonight, right?"</p><p>I hesitated. "Yeah, maybe. I'm a little tired."</p><p>"Okay," she said, a bit disappointed. "Well, I hope you come." I nodded, giving her some more compliments until she rushed off to her dinner.</p><p>I sat until it seemed no one else was going to come out of the locker room until – "Meg! What are you doing here?" Hercules asked in a surprised tone, drying off his ginger hair with a towel.</p><p>"Hello, Wonderboy. Fancy meeting you here," I said trying to not stare at his arms. He smiled and rubbed his neck. "Nice throw," I said, commenting on the toss he had made to Mulan to win the game.</p><p>He chuckled. "Well, thank you. It was Mulan, though, who made it happen."</p><p>I smirked at his courteousness as he fiddled with his duffle bag. "Humble and hot," I muttered to myself. "What can't you do?"</p><p>"Sorry?" he asked, looking at me quizzically. </p><p>"Oh, nothing Herc," I said, smiling to myself.</p><p> There was a pause, until I said, "Well. Goodnight, I guess. See you around, Hercules." I began to walk away, but Hercules stopped me.</p><p>"Wait!" I turned, a feeling of hope bubbling up in my chest. "Are you going to the diner tonight?"</p><p>"Probably not," I answered, looking at my hands carelessly. "Supposedly the whole school is going to be in that tiny spot. Too many people for my taste."</p><p>He laughed, then took a breath. "Well...do you maybe want to go to the bistro? Like...now? It'll be...um, less crowded."</p><p>I laughed at his obvious anxiety, but truthfully my heart was fluttering faster by the second. "I don't see why not. I would kill for some mac and cheese right about now."</p><p>He chuckled and we began to walk towards the bistro, joking and smiling the whole while. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello my friends! Sorry this took so long to publish, it is kind of a long chapter. Everything is coming together in my mind, so things won't take as long. How'd you like this chapter? It felt kind of weird for me to write, I don't know why, but I'm glad I did it.</p><p>Poor Hiccup! At least he knows that Merida didn't walk away on purpose, but still. That must hurt. Will he ever get up the courage again to ask her out? How will she respond? Jack is a very good friend to him, don't you think? Milan won the game!!!!!! Yayyyyyyyy! I knew she could do it. And Herc and Meg went to dinner, oooooh! </p><p>Anyway, friends, I'm already writing the next chapter, so maybe another early update...possibly. </p><p>Question of the Chapter: Do you play any sports? If so, which ones?</p><p>My Answer: Yes, I do dance. Many hours a week and believe me, it's harder than football, so yes, it is a sport.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ANNA'S POV</p><p>After the football game, everything seemed kind of mellow and boring. I was doing regular things with my friends, and trying to keep up with my schoolwork.</p><p>We did start Grease rehearsals! They're super fun, and Moana and Ariel are killing it as Rizzo and Sandy, especially with the vocals. Moana is still having trouble being mean to people, though.</p><p>Kristoff, Moana, and I have actually been spending a lot more time together than usual. We do everything in drama and rehearsals together (since everyone in drama is required to be in the show, we basically have rehearsals for our period plus more after school), from helping each other with choreography to sneaking out of the theater to get snacks from the vending machine. On Tuesday, we even went to iHop for dinner and to rehearse lines.</p><p>Today was Wednesday, and I was bubbly as ever. I skipped into the theater, bustling with people, and went straight for our normal seats in the back. Only Kristoff was there, and my heart fluttered.</p><p>"Hey, Kristoff!" I exclaimed, throwing my backpack down and collapsing in a seat.</p><p>"Hey," he responded, grinning and looking at me.</p><p>My stomach lurched. "Oh! I have something...here..." I reached down to the small pocket in my backpack and pulled out two tickets. "Um, yesterday I got two tickets to this art exhibit at the museum, and I was wondering if you wanted to go? With me? I mean, it might be kind of boring, but it's the mummies from Egypt and tickets were on sale, so...Yeah. And maybe we can get dinner or something after?" I could feel my cheeks heating up.</p><p>Kristoff's mouth was slightly agape until he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, yeah, sure, that'd be...that'd be great! Um...I'll meet you at your dorm? What number?"</p><p>"443. Just text me when you're coming down," I told him with a smile on my face, slightly giggling at his nervousness. He nodded and Moana entered, so I cleared my throat and kept my excitement down, waiting to gush to my friends at lunch. </p><p> </p><p>•  •  •</p><p> </p><p>My next period, I had Rapunzel in my class, and I couldn't wait until lunch to tell someone about my bravery. "Punz, Punz, Punz, Punz, Punz!" I whisper-yelled, running over to her in her seat. I dropped my books on the desk and sat down, exhaling.</p><p>"What? Is everything okay?" she asked, looking surprised.</p><p>"Yes, yes, of course – everything's better than okay! You'll never ever believe what I just did!" I squealed, doing a little dance in my seat.</p><p>"What?" she asked, her eyes brimming with anticipation.</p><p>"I just asked Kristoff out!" I revealed in a low voice.</p><p>Punzie's eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh my gosh! Really? As a date?"</p><p>My face fell. "I mean, like, I assume so? I didn't really specify. Oh no, what if he thinks it's just as friends? I don't want it to be just as friends! Was I supposed to specify? The only relationship I've been in is with Hans, and he asked all the dates." I pulled Rapunzel close. "Punz, I really, really like Kristoff. Like, a lot. What if he doesn't?"</p><p>"Anna, I'm sure he knows it's a date. I mean, what do you call an outing and dinner just one on one? Plus, you're one of the most obvious people I know, so there's no way he doesn't know you like him. But, be careful Anna. I don't want you getting hurt again."</p><p>I nodded, but gave a wistful sigh, thinking about the date ahead until class started. </p><p> </p><p>DAVID'S POV</p><p>"I really, really like Kristoff. Like, a lot." That was all I heard Anna Arendelle say to Rapunzel, and that was all I needed. I have to tell Kristoff.</p><p>I got through that period quickly, excited to tell my buddy about his crush. Once the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and grabbed my messenger bag. Running down the hall, I accidentally bumped into someone's shoulder roughly. I turned around. "Sorry!" I yelled, but then paused. It was Nani.</p><p>"David! What's the rush?" she asked, smiling. I brushed my black hair from my face and my cheeks flushed.</p><p>"Uh – I – um, have something I need to do! Uh, relationship...problems," I told her, stammering. I internally pinched myself. Nice job, Davey.Her smile fell.</p><p>"Oh. Well, good luck!" she called after me, and then she immediately turned to her friends and conversed in hushed whispers.</p><p>I turned back and continued running, this time dodging people quicker. I found Kristoff in the lunch line, getting some Chinese food. "Kris! Kristoff!" I shouted, weaving through the line to get to him. "Hey, buddy! I've got some good news for you!"</p><p>He accepted his plate of shrimp and noodles from the lunch lady and turned to me. "Oh really? Well, I have news too!"</p><p>"Let me guess," I said, grinning. "Anna asked you out?"</p><p>Kristoff's mouth fell open. "How did you know?"</p><p>"I heard her telling her friend. And guess what else I heard?" Kristoff raised his eyebrows expectedly. "Anna said that she really, really likes you. Like, a lot. And she wants to make sure that you know that you're going on a date and not as friends."</p><p>Kristoff smiled and blushed. "She said that? Those were her exact words?"</p><p>"Yep, basically. You know what this means, right man?" He stared at me blankly. "This is your chance! Make your move!"</p><p>Kristoff furrowed his brows. "Make my move? How do I do that?"</p><p>I paused and hummed. "Um, well, I don't really know. I've never exactly been on a date before – "</p><p>"But you wish you have. With Nani," Kristoff crooned, elbowing me with his tray in his hands. I frowned at him in warning.</p><p>"We should ask someone who would know what to do.... How about Eric?" I proposed, looking at him across the cafeteria.</p><p>Kristoff shrugged. "Sure."</p><p>After I got my food, we made our way over to Eric and his friends, who were cracking up over something Robin Hood had said. "Hey Eric," I said, tapping his shoulder. "Could we talk to you?"</p><p>Eric nodded, smiling. "Sure thing, guys. I'll be right back," he said to his friends. We walked over to an empty table and sat. "What's up?"</p><p>"Well," I began, "Kristoff was asked out by Anna, and I overheard her saying that she really really likes him. It sounded like she wanted a relationship, but Kristoff doesn't know what to do next to make that happen.</p><p>"Hmmm," Eric mused, rubbing his chin. "Where are you guys going?"</p><p>"To the museum and then to dinner," Kris answered.</p><p>Eric nodded. "Okay, okay. Well, maybe at the museum you can take her hand, very discreetly. And then at dinner, ask her to be your girlfriend? Only if you want to move that fast."</p><p>Kristoff nodded, looking a little petrified at the thought of doing that. "Okay. Thanks, Eric." We stood up and exchanged bro-hugs, and then Kristoff and I went to sit with Simba and Pongo, but Nani caught my eye, eating her sandwich alone on a wall.</p><p>"Um, I'm gonna...I'll be right back, guys," I said, keeping my eyes trained on her as I took my tray while climbing out of my seat. I walked over to her, taking deep breaths to calm my heart.</p><p>"Hey," I said as I approached her, moving my head to push my hair out of my eyes. She looked up at me through a huge bite of sandwich, causing her eyes to widen as she chewed faster in a hasty effort to swallow.</p><p>Clearing her throat, she finally responded, "Hey."</p><p>I chuckled and looked around. "Where are your friends?"</p><p>She sighed. "Judy's taking a makeup test, Belle and Jane are with Ariel and them, and then everyone else I think are doing clubs at lunch. So I'm here alone."</p><p>"What about your sister?"</p><p>"Lilo doesn't want me around her friends because I'm basically her mom. But I mean, I don't know why, because I'm a cool mom."</p><p>I laughed, sitting down next to her. "Yes, you are." She clasped her hands together after brushing hair behind her ear.</p><p>"So, um, you got your relationship problems worked out?" she asked, not smiling.</p><p>"Oh," I said with a start, tearing my eyes from her face to look at Kristoff. "Yeah. But they weren't mine! I swear. I was helping Kristoff."</p><p>I saw her relax and her face broke into a smile again. "Good. I mean – good that you got them fixed, not that – yeah."</p><p>We sat in silence, eating our food and just people watching. And I could feel myself glowing with happiness. </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL'S POV</p><p>"Oh no, oh no, oh no. Why did I do this? I'm not ready. Oh no!" Anna cried, rushing around our dorm room with various outfits hanging around her arms.</p><p>I chuckled from my desk, watching her scramble back and forth. "Anna, Anna, calm down. You'll be fine. It's only five and you told him to be down by six, right?"</p><p>"Yeah," she replied, a panicked look in her eyes. "But I'm not even dressed! I haven't showered!"</p><p>"You showered this morning," Ariel reminded her, looking up from her book.</p><p>"Oh. Right. I don't even know what I'm going to wear!" she cried, holding up the clothes.</p><p>"Okay, okay. Calm down and show us all the options," I said, holding my hands out to slow her down.</p><p>Anna nodded and took a breath, walking into the bathroom. She exited with a short, spaghetti-strapped sundress, twirling around.</p><p>"No, you'll be too cold," Ariel pointed out, waving the dress away.</p><p>"But!" I interrupted, pointing at her. "Then he can give you his jacket."</p><p>"But what about her legs?" Moana said, earning a few groans from us and sending Anna back into the bathroom.</p><p>She emerged in a pink and purple marbled top and pink tulle skirt, holding a chunky pink necklace up to her chest. "Eh, it's a little much. You want to be looking at the art, not your shirt," Moana commented, and we all nodded until Anna disappeared again, putting on the last outfit.</p><p>She came back out with jeans, a turquoise patterned blouse and she threw on some brown sandals and a grey purse. "Huh, how 'bout this?" she asked, striking poses.</p><p>Ariel and I sat up, and I clapped. "Yes!" Ariel cried, bouncing up and down on her bed and losing her place in her book.</p><p>Anna cheered and thanked us, moving on to her hair and makeup. She curled her hair and pinned half of it back with a grey barrette. Then she applied neutral makeup, concealer, mascara, blush, and lip gloss. By the time she finished, it was six, and there was an immediate knock on the door.</p><p>Anna squealed sharply and her eyes widened, clamping a hand down on her mouth. She mouthed to us Oh my god as she moved to open the door, slinging on her purse and grabbing her phone on the way. I silently cheered her on and she opened the door, revealing Kristoff wearing tan pants, a white button-down shirt and a blue jacket. And he was holding flowers!</p><p>He immediately stood straight as soon as he realized the door was open, and he blushed furiously, making it very hard for me not to coo at their cuteness. Anna was wringing her hands and blushing, looking up at him through her eyelashes.</p><p>"Um, these are for you," he said, handing her the flowers with two hands. She giggled and took them, then engulfed him in a hug. Ariel, Moana, and I shared a look. "Thank you, Kristoff. They're beautiful. Punz, can you put these in a vase for me?"</p><p>I stood up and took the flowers as Anna introduced us. "Do you know my roommates? This is Rapunzel, Ariel, and of course you know Moana." Ariel and I smiled and waved.</p><p>"Yeah, hey guys," he said sweetly, giving a bashful wave. "Hey, Mo."</p><p>"Are you ready to go?" Anna asked, inhaling and grinning up at him. He nodded. "Oh!" she exclaimed, running to her drawers. "I need the tickets!" She grabbed them as we giggled at her, and she beamed hopefully at us, flashing us her crossed fingers and turning to Kristoff. "All right, let's go."</p><p>They waved to us and closed the door, venturing into their first date. </p><p> </p><p>KRISTOFF'S POV</p><p>We walked down the hall in silence, my hands shoved into my pockets. She kept tucking her ginger hair behind her ear, and I adjusted my sleeves. I cleared my throat nervously. "Um, you look gorgeous."</p><p>She glanced up at me, smiling. "Thank you. You do too." There was a pause. "I mean, you're not gorgeous. I mean, if you want to be. You look very nice."</p><p>I chuckled. "Thanks. So, where are we going tonight?"</p><p>"Well, I was thinking we could stay at the museum for a while, and then I made dinner reservations at Gusteau's at 7:30, since curfew's at nine. Is that all right?"</p><p>I nodded. "Yeah, of course." We continued our walk into the evening city, the sun beginning to set and leaving behind dazzling colors.</p><p>"Wow, that's so pretty," Anna breathed, stopping to take a picture with her phone. I hummed in agreement.</p><p>We moved on, arriving at the front of the museum in about fifteen minutes, Anna scanning our tickets. "Come on! The mummy exhibit is this way!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the numerous art exhibits, nimbly weaving through people. We walked in, the room darker than the rest of the building. She went straight for the wrapped bodies, marveling.</p><p>"Woah," she whispered touching the glass of who was supposedly King Tut. I looked down at his face and although it was cool, it kind of gave me the creeps. I examined his wrapped body and called Anna over to read the description panel. She read it aloud. "Tutankhamun (meaning Living Image of Amun), more commonly known as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh in the 18th dynasty. This is known as the New Kingdom or the New Empire period. He reigned from 1332-1323 B.C., when he died at age 18. He was buried in KV62 in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb was found by Howard Carter in 1922."</p><p>She looked back at the mummy. "Why did he die when he was 18?"</p><p>I glanced back at the panel. "Doesn't say. We could probably ask – "</p><p>"Ooh! Look over here!" I was interrupted as Anna grabbed my hand again, running over to a set up of skulls. Those definitely gave me the creeps, but I read the panels anyway.</p><p>We spent about twenty more minutes in there before we squeezed out as it became more crowded. We still had about 30 more minutes to spare before we had to walk to dinner.</p><p>We looked at the other exhibits, walking slowly by each one and occasionally waving the other over to see. Anna was especially fascinated by the tar pits and the dinosaurs. From another room, she shouted at me, "Kristoff! Look! Come over here!" She earned some shushes for that, but I chuckled and joined her. And right above me was the skeleton of a T-Rex.</p><p>"Woah," I said quietly, looking up in awe.</p><p>Anna was still clutching onto my arm and she jumped up and down. "I know, right? Come on, I saw some raptors over here."</p><p>She continued holding my hand the entire time we were in the museum, in the gift shop (where she was tempted to buy a mini replica of the T-Rex, but it was $300), and even as we walked to the restaurant. I let her talk away, listening closely to all of her stories.</p><p>Anna put her name in and we were led to a table for two, lit dimly by two candles and a rose as the centerpiece. I suddenly realized how romantic this place was. A waiter came over and I felt foolish when both of us ordered pink lemonade, but it came as a fizzy drink in champagne glasses, and he put it in the wine bucket next to us. Anna giggled as we clinked glasses.</p><p>There was never a dull moment all throughout the meal, with Anna chattering happily about her life and her sister and her friends. She asked me a couple questions, and I felt like I was being boring compared to her. But whatever I said was supposedly really funny.</p><p>We finished the food (which was delicious), but when the check came I realized how expensive this was. I knew I had to pay the check, but I wasn't that well off. I had gotten here on a scholarship since my foster parents couldn't pay tuition. But I had been saving up – it was for a new saw, for my ice job back at home, but I guess I could use that here.</p><p>I had been taking out my wallet, but when I reached for the check, it was gone. "Hey – where - ?"</p><p>Anna was putting her card into the book, and I grabbed for it. "I was going to pay!" I told her, showing my wallet.</p><p>She looked up at me. "Yeah, right. I'm the one who asked you on the date, and I made the reservation. Therefore I'm paying."</p><p>"But – " Before I could continue, the waiter passed by and Anna handed him the check. "No!" I cried, reaching after him, but it was gone. I returned my gaze to her and sighed. "Well, I'll get the next one," I said without thinking.</p><p>Anna's bright blue eyes lit up even more. "The next one?"</p><p>I froze. "I mean, we don't have to go on another one. I – I would like to, but, you know, if you don't want to that's totally fine." I paused, my heart pounding. "I mean, do you want to?"</p><p>She giggled and nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much." Her debit card returned, and we left, with only ten minutes to spare to get back to the dorms.</p><p>"It's a 15 minute walk," I said, looking down at her. She returned the glance.</p><p>"Well, I guess we're just going to have to run, then," she replied, a glint in her eye.</p><p>She grabbed my hand and took off, sprinting down the sidewalk. I laughed, being pulled behind her, until she stopped suddenly. "I gotta take off these shoes." She slipped off her sandal-heel things and continued running. We made it inside the building at 8:58, when Lady Tremaine gave us a glare over her computer but stayed silent. We chuckled quietly to each other and entered an elevator, riding it up to her floor. I walked her over to her door, and we were both still out of breath.</p><p>"Well," I said when we stopped.</p><p>"Well," she repeated, looking at our clasped hands. I nervously dropped them, and suddenly my hand felt cold. "This was so fun."</p><p>"Agreed. Thanks for, um, paying for everything. Oh, how much was the ticket?" I asked, reaching for my wallet again. She pushed my arm away.</p><p>"It's fine, Kristoff. Really," she laughed, brushing a piece of orange hair from her face.</p><p>I gave her an exasperated smile. "Next time."</p><p>She nodded and agreed, "Next time."</p><p>We stood there in silence, and I just stared at her face and into her sparkling blue eyes. "Well, thank you for today. Um, you'd better get to your room, we're having room check soon," she sighed finally, swinging her arms.</p><p>"Yeah." We stood there again, awkwardly, until Anna attacked me in a hug. I hugged her back, and Anna eventually let go, opening her door slowly and giving me a small wave goodbye. I returned it and waited until the door was shut before I turned on my heel and whistled happily all the way back to my room.</p><p> </p><p>ANNA'S POV</p><p>The moment I closed the door, all three of my roommates exploded with questions.</p><p>"How was it?"</p><p>"Was the food good?"</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"Was he weird?"</p><p>"Did you kiss?"</p><p>I gasped. "What? No! I don't move that fast," I insisted, putting my purse on my desk and giving them a look. But Ariel and Punz shared a glance that showed they thought otherwise.</p><p>I collapsed on my bed, my heart still fluttering and my hand still tingling. I sighed.</p><p>"Oh no, guys," Punz whispered, her eyes wide. "I know that look."</p><p>I sat up, taking out my earrings and hairstyle. "What?"</p><p>"She's in love!" Ariel crowed, hugging a pillow and bouncing on her bed.</p><p>"Am not!" I retaliated, swiping at them with my hands.</p><p>Ariel, Punzie, and Moana began dancing around the room, shouting, "She's in love! Anna's in love!"</p><p>Suddenly, a loud noise came from the floor, probably a broomstick from the people below us, yelling at them to keep quiet. We all burst into a fit of giggles and they sat on their beds, while I changed into my pajamas and started walking to the bathroom to prepare for bed.</p><p>On the way, I took out my phone and FaceTimed Elsa, because that's what I do when I'm feeling happy. She picked up right away. "Hey, Anna!" she said, smiling.</p><p>"Hi, Els!" I responded, setting the phone on the sink and pulling my hair back.</p><p>"What's up?"</p><p>I sighed, being careful not to say anything about going on a date because I know she'd get mad. "Oh, just in a happy mood. I've had a wonderful day."</p><p>"Oh really? What happened?" she asked quizzically with a grin.</p><p>"She fell in love!" Ariel shouted from the other room, and I immediately froze, hoping to the heavens that Elsa didn't hear that.</p><p>"What?" she asked, her smile melted.</p><p>"Oh, it's nothing," I said hastily, shutting the bathroom door, giving a death look to Ariel. Her face was confused, her eyes questioning.</p><p>"You fell in love?" Elsa asked, a judgmental look on her face.</p><p>"No. Did not. Don't listen to Ariel," I insisted quickly, busying myself with my bathroom supplies.</p><p>"Anna, tell me what's going on," she said sternly, her pixelated eyes boring into mine.</p><p>I took a breath. "I may have gone on a date..." I said quietly, looking anywhere but at her. I began to wash my face.</p><p>"What? Anna, we talked about this! You're still hurt from Hans, and I don't want that to happen to you again. Men take advantage of you because you're like this! How can you be this stupid?"</p><p>That stung. Badly. "I'm not stupid!" I shouted, tears pricking my eyes. "Hans won't happen again, because I'm not in love yet! It was only a date! Plus, Kristoff is the kindest, sweetest person I've ever met. He would never hurt me. I know it."</p><p>Elsa massaged her brow and groaned. "No, you don't know. How can you? You're just naïve."</p><p>There was a silence, and I could tell my friends were listening but I didn't care.</p><p>"Why do you always shut me out? From anything that's fun? Elsa, you don't know what's best for me. Just, mind your own business, okay? I'm going to bed." And with that, despite her protests, I hung up.</p><p>I angrily opened the bathroom door and stormed out, going straight to bed and huddling under the covers, squishing my tear-streaked face into my pillow. Ariel and Punz were watching me with frightened eyes, but Moana had the courtesy to look away.</p><p>"Goodnight," I muttered to them, shutting my eyes tight and trying to bring myself back to Kristoff. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello! I'm back! I sort of took a summer break because I was extremely busy, but now I'm on a relaxing vacation and can actually write! This chapter was very Kristanna centered, but I'm really fine with it. I can't wait to continue, I've gotten out of my writer's block for this book. Kristoff and Anna are really cute, don't you think? Elsa needs to get off her sister's case, though. David and Nani are still dancing around each other, so who will make the first move? What do you want to happen next? What povs do you want to see?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What did you do over summer?</p><p>My answer: Well, first I went to Seattle/Portland with my cousin, then I went to Austin for a dance intensive of 3 weeks, now I'm at a lakeside cabin for 2 weeks. It's been very eventful!</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>DMITRI'S POV</p><p>"Yo, dude," Eric said, his voice far away. He smacked my legs with a pillow. "We've let you sleep for forty minutes. It's 7:20."</p><p>I groaned, not even caring that I had ten minutes to be down at breakfast. "Just five more minutes, please," I said, rolling over.</p><p>"Come on, you can't miss first period. It's your science period." he reminded me, picking up his backpack and beginning to walk out the door. "I've set some alarms, so if you fall asleep again, you're sure to wake up. Say hi to Anya for me!" And with that he closed the door.</p><p>I shut my eyes again, brushing off his comment about my friend and easily falling back to sleep. But all too soon, an alarm started ringing. I stopped it, but the moment I did, another alarm started up again. And another, and another, and another. Eric, that asshole. Knowing that it was no use to try to fall asleep again, I got out of bed and after a while the alarms stopped. I brushed my teeth drowsily and put on a teal button up shirt, along with black jeans and a black vest. I didn't do anything with my hair, as usual. After I pulled on shoes, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out the door.</p><p>I began walking to the elevator, but a surprising sight stopped me. "Anya?" I asked, confused. Anastasia Romonav, my best friend who I had transferred here with from Fox Institute, was wandering the halls. She started when she heard me.</p><p>"Oh, it's just you," she said, brushing me off with an air of unimportance.</p><p>"Yeah, hello and good morning to you too," I scoffed. "What are you doing down here? This is the boy's floor."</p><p>She looked away, shrugging. "I, um, got lost?"</p><p>"What? We've been in these dorms for a month now, how did you get lost? Idiot," I said as we began walking towards the elevator, side by side.</p><p>"Okay, moron, I didn't really get lost. But Elsa and Nala are my only girl friends, and they weren't in their rooms. All my other friends are you and Flynn and Tramp, so I figured I'd run into one of you down here," she explained, blowing a piece of auburn bangs from her face.</p><p>"Well, I'm flattered." She rolled her eyes at me. <br/>"So where are the others?"</p><p>"No idea. Apparently I sleep very late and I got up just five minutes ago."</p><p>She eyed me up and down. "I can tell." I pushed her.</p><p>Laughing, she regained her balance and tightened her tiny ponytail. "Hey, do you know if the five of us are going to the football game tomorrow?" she asked, the five of us meaning our friend group of me, Anya, Flynn, Tramp, and Nala.</p><p>I shrugged. "I don't know. We just went to one last week."</p><p>"True. We could try to do something different."</p><p>There was a silence as we rode the elevator down to the first floor. As we got off, Anya suddenly gasped, scaring me. She hopped and grabbed my upper arm. "We could go laser tagging! Oh, my god, I've always wanted to go laser tagging!"</p><p>I laughed, trying to play off my jump scare. "Sure, sounds fun. Let's try to find them in the cafeteria."</p><p>She led me to the eating area and weaved her way through chairs, making me hurry awkwardly after her. "Flynn! Tramp!" she yelled, waving.</p><p>The two guys looked up from their booth and smiled, waving us over. Anya sat down next to Tramp and I was next to Flynn. Anya stole a mini pancake off of Tramp's plate. "Hey!" he cried, reaching for it. She ate it in one bite, causing Tramp to pout as we all laughed.</p><p>"Hey, guys," Nala greeted with her plate, squeezing in next to me. I took an apple slice but she didn't mind. "What's up?"</p><p>"I thought that instead of going to the game tomorrow night, we could go laser tagging!" Anya answered excitedly, looking around for the reaction.</p><p>"Yeah!" they all agreed, sharing her enthusiasm. "You guys are going to get murdered," Flynn said smugly, popping a tater tot in his mouth.</p><p>"You wish. I'm the queen of laser tag," Nala retorted, smirking.</p><p>"No way – "</p><p>Tramp interrupted. "I think we should all just agree that I am going to kick your butts."</p><p>We all started arguing joyfully, stopping when Nala checked her watch and announced that we had ten minutes to get to school. We all paused and then immediately scrambled out of the booth, barely waiting for Tramp, Nala, and Flynn to put their trays away. We all dashed outside and down the sidewalk laughing so hard we could barely breathe.</p><p>We charged through the main doors of our building and ran to our separate lockers. I met Anya and Tramp in our homeroom, still panting and grinning with two minutes to spare.</p><p>After the first twenty minutes, Anya and Flynn and I walked to the science room for first period, joking away.</p><p>Ms. Ursula instructed us to immediately meet up with our groups, since tomorrow was the day that we gave our presentations. I walked over to our table with Anya, meeting Milo Thatch there. "Hey, buddy," I said to him, clapping him on the back.</p><p>"Hey, guys," he said, adjusting his glasses and flashing us a pleasant, lopsided smile. "Um, I have the parts that you guys should try to memorize that you will present tomorrow." He pulled out two typed up sheets of paper and handed them to us.</p><p>"Thanks," Anya and I said, taking them and skimming over the information. Milo had basically done all of the research and experimentation with this project. Not like we had forced him to or that we didn't want to help, but Anya and I aren't that good at school and he seemed more than happy to do the work. Anya and I decorated our poster together and we were saying a portion of the report in front of the class.</p><p>"No problem! And you'll bring the poster tomorrow, correct?"</p><p>"Yep, I got it," Anya replied, smiling at him.</p><p>Milo grinned. "Great! This is going to be so cool!" I laughed at his enthusiasm and then class officially began. We had nothing to do, so Milo pulled out some homework and Anya and I began chatting.</p><p>"Why does he like school so much?" Anya asked me quietly, chuckling and glancing at our partner.</p><p>I grinned. "Dunno, but hey, works well for me."</p><p>She laughed and nodded. "Same, I just want to make sure he actually wants to. I'd feel bad if he thought we were making him do all the work."</p><p>"I'm sure he wants to. The guy reads mythology books on Atlantis for fun." She smiled and nodded, agreeing.</p><p>There were a couple of minutes of silence, all where I was grasping for something not-boring to talk about. "So, are you going to dress up for Halloween?" I blurted, cursing myself. Why would I ask that? I know she hates dressing up for Halloween, plus it feels like our friend group is too cool for dressing up.</p><p>She gave me a weird look, just like I expected. "I hate dressing up."</p><p>I laughed, trying to brush it off by saying, "Yeah, of course, I knew that."</p><p>There was another awkward silence and I didn't even try to think of something again. "So," Anya started, clearing her throat. "Are you going to the Winter Formal?"</p><p>"That's in like, two months," I said, frowning.</p><p>"Yeah," she replied, continuing to fiddle with her notebook. "So you're not going with anyone?"</p><p>My breath caught but I shook it off. "Uh, no, not yet."</p><p>Anya inhaled, still not meeting my intense gaze. "So, uh, do you want to go together?"</p><p>I gaped. "Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good," I answered hastily, hoping it hadn't sounded like I had hesitated.</p><p>She looked up at me. "Really? Great!" Then she immediately started talking about our ensemble part in Grease, leaving me dumbfounded. I was going to the dance with Anya. </p><p> </p><p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>Ever since Anna's date the other night, it seemed to me like I was surrounded with couples. Theatre was never just me, Anna, and Kristoff as friends, but it was the two together plus me on the sidelines. Kristoff would bring her food and she would cuddle up with him and they would yell playfully about who knows what. It was cute, but as a third-wheeler, it was getting extremely annoying.</p><p>And it wasn't just Anna. When I walked through the halls, it seemed like all of the happy couples shoved their cheeriness in my face. Jane and Tarzan would run around at lunch, Poca and John would hold hands every where, Cindy and Henry were the most lovey-dovey people I've ever seen. Snow and Florian were as well. "Hi, Moana!" Snow would say, arm-in-arm with her smiling boyfriend. "How's Kristanna?"</p><p>"Who?" I asked, confused.</p><p>Snow giggled happily, leaning her head on Florian's arm, who laughed with her. "Oh, it's the couple name for Kristoff and Anna! Everyone has a couple name. For example, we're Flow. Aurora and Philip are Phaurora, Wendy and Peter are Pendy, and so on and so on."</p><p>I nodded slowly, taking a slightly annoyed breath. Couples, couples everywhere. "Well, Kristanna is doing fine. Better than ever," I told her through slightly gritted teeth. Snow was extremely sweet, but right now she and everyone else was getting on my nerves.</p><p>Snow clapped. "Oh, good, I'm so glad. Give them my best wishes!"</p><p>I gave her a tight-lipped smile and stomped off to English class, muttering, "Why can't you do it yourself? I get enough of Kristanna every day." I entered my English classroom, and sitting at the front were Aladdin and Tiger Lily making out heavily, ignoring Miss Poppins' snaps at them. I took my seat behind Aladdin and his lap partner and glared at them in disgust, looking away and turning to Jasmine.</p><p>"Is it just me or is the school way more couple-y lately?" I asked her exasperatedly, rolling my eyes.</p><p>She leaned forward. "Tell me about it. My friends are killing me with either their crush or boyfriend gushing. Poca, Mulan, Anya, Elsa, Meg, Nani. And Tiger and Aladdin are really pushing it. They don't even like each other."</p><p>"They don't?" I asked, glancing at the two who were still locked together, Miss Poppins rapping on the desk.</p><p>Jasmine shook her head, scrunching her nose at them. "Aladdin apparently is such a player. They just use each other for... physical contact. But last time I talked to him he was really nice..."</p><p>I studied her face, and she looked away from him quickly, clearing her throat. "Anyway. It's really annoying, all these couples. I've never even been in a real relationship and I even have double the options," she laughed.</p><p>"What?" I interrupted, making sure I had heard that right.</p><p>"What? Oh, yeah. I'm bisexual, which means I like both boys and girls. So, technically speaking, I have almost double the dating options."</p><p>"Oh," I said, my heart warming. "Cool. I didn't know that existed."</p><p>"Neither did I until I became part of the LGBT+ club. Hey, you should come! We meet today because yesterday Mulan had a football thing at lunch yesterday. It'll totally teach you a lot. Are you gay?" she said enthusiastically, holding my hands.</p><p>I was taken aback. Ariel's face suddenly flashed through my mind. "Um, I don't think so? I, um, I guess I've never really thought about it."</p><p>"Well, we could just say you're an ally for now. I'll take you after this period!"</p><p>I shrugged my shoulders, laughing. "Okay." I guess a day off from Ariel and Anna and Punz wouldn't hurt. Plus, Ariel and Anna would probably be talking about Kristoff and Eric, anyways.</p><p>Miss Poppins finally got Aladdin and Tiger apart and sent them both to the opposite sides of the room, giving them detention at lunch.</p><p>• • •</p><p>After English, Jazz took my hand, which made me blush, and led me to another classroom after we had grabbed lunch. It was already filled with people. They looked up as Jasmine started talking. "Hi, guys! Moana is joining us today."</p><p>There were a chorus of hi's at me, and I saw Mulan, who was sitting on a desk, smile at me. "Hey, Moana! Welcome! So, we'll all go around the room and say our names, even if you already know us, preferred pronouns, and sexuality. I'll start. I'm Mulan, I'm a she or her, and I'm gay."</p><p>"I'm Poca, my pronouns can be they or she, and I'm straight."</p><p>"I'm Elsa, I'm a she, and I'm bi." Huh, I did not know she was anything but straight.</p><p>"I'm Shang, I'm a he, and I'm bi."</p><p>"I am Merida, I'm a woman, and I'm asexual and aromantic, which means I mostly do not like people in a romantic or attracting way. This can potentially change with certain people." I nodded, learning lots of new things.</p><p>"I'm Tiana, I'm a girl, and I'm an ally as far as I know."</p><p>"My name is Kida, I'm pan. And nonbinary, which means I go by they or them sometimes."</p><p>"I'm Tink, I'm female, and I am demisexual, which means I can only fall in love with or like people with whom I already had a connection with." I nodded, smiling at her.</p><p>"Kuzco, male, gay."</p><p>"The name is Meg, I'm a woman, and I have no idea what I am. A little bit straight, at least."</p><p>"I'm Hercules, and I'm an ally. Oh, and I'm a guy."</p><p>"I'm Cindy and I'm also a female demisexual."</p><p>"I'm Aurora and I'm pan. She pronouns."</p><p>"And I'm Jasmine and I'm a female bisexual."</p><p>Suddenly everyone looked at me and I felt very on the spot. "Oh! I am Moana, and I'm a girl, and I don't know what, uh, my sexuality is."</p><p>Mulan smiled at me. "Well, that's okay. We can help you find out, if you'd like."</p><p>The club meeting continued, and we mostly didn't do much except for people giving occasional reports on coming out and such, and then everyone just kind of talked and hung out.</p><p>• • •</p><p>"Hey Mo!" Ariel called, walking towards me once I got outside of the school building. I smiled at her.</p><p>"Hey, Ariel."</p><p>"So, you were at a club today?"</p><p>"Um, yeah. LGBT+ club with Jasmine."</p><p>Ariel raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Why?"</p><p>I suddenly felt very nervous. Did she not like that? "Um, she wanted me for... support."</p><p>"Okay then. Well, anyways, it was just me and Anna since Punz said she had a dance meeting or something."</p><p>I gasped as my stomach dropped. "Crap! The meeting!" I exclaimed, the blood rushing out of my face. "Oh, my god, I completely forgot!" I facepalmed myself and moaned, wondering how I could've forgotten one of the most important meetings of the dance semester.</p><p>"It's okay, Esme will forgive you," Ariel reassured me, patting my shoulder.</p><p>I nodded silently, still shocked. "Hopefully."</p><p>"Well, anyway, I was thinking that we could go get some snacks for our slumber party tomorrow night?"</p><p>"Oh, sure! I almost forgot about that, too." We redirected ourselves to the nearest grocery store.</p><p>We arrived back at home, entering the room to see Anna and Rapunzel already waiting. "Hey, guys," Ariel said as we slung our backpacks on the ground.</p><p>"Hey," the two responded at the same time, sounding uninterested.</p><p>"We got snacks for tomorrow night!" Ariel announced, holding up the multiple plastic bags of sweets while I placed all the ice cream in the freezer.</p><p>"Yes! Did you get chocolate?" Anna asked.</p><p>Ariel laughed, placing the bags down. "Of course, Anna. You would have murdered me if I hadn't." We laughed, agreeing since Anna was addicted to chocolate.</p><p>"That's something I wanted to tell you guys about," Ariel said, sitting on her bed and pulling her backpack toward her. We all gave her our attention. "I have my first Sandy and Danny rehearsal tomorrow! It'll just be me, Eric, Aurora, and Philip!" Ariel reported excitedly, her face lighting up when she talked about Eric.</p><p>The others squealed. "That's so exciting! Maybe you'll get to practice with Eric!"</p><p>Ariel's jaw dropped suddenly as she whispered, "What if we do a kissing scene?"</p><p>"Oh, I hope not," Punz said truthfully, squinting. "Why would you want your first kiss with Eric to be staged?"</p><p>"True," Ariel agreed, nodding.</p><p>"Have you had your first kiss yet?" I blurted, with no idea why I asked that.</p><p>The three looked at me quizzically. "I have," Ariel answered, shrugging it off. "He was just a jock in middle school."</p><p>I nodded, looking down. And what I said next made me regret even having a voice. "So, you've only been with boys?"</p><p>Ariel, Rapunzel, and Anna all stared at me, making my face light on fire. "What?" Ariel asked, frowning. "Of course."</p><p>I gave a nervous laugh, looking at my hands. "Yeah, right, of course. It was a stupid question."</p><p>Ariel had brushed it off, but Punz and Anna were still watching me closely. "Well," Punz began, breaking the silence. "I have not had my first kiss yet."</p><p>"I have. With Hans, obviously," Anna said, playing with her dress.</p><p>After a pause, Ariel continued, "Well, since I have rehearsal tomorrow, I might be a little late to the party. We end at six."</p><p>"Sounds perfect! We can get dinner and then party!" Anna said, pumping her fists and drawing out the last word. We giggled at her. </p><p> </p><p>After finishing my homework, I went to dinner without my roommates because they still had not finished and I was hungry. I saw Elsa sitting alone, reading a book in the cafeteria and decided to join her after getting my food. "Hey, Elsa," I said, sliding into a seat across from her. "Can I eat with you?"</p><p>She put her book down, smiling at me. "Sure!"</p><p>"What are you reading?" I asked, taking a bite of my burrito.</p><p>She showed me the yellow cover. "The Help," she responded, eating her meatloaf.</p><p>"Oh cool. I love that book."</p><p>She nodded in response. "So," I continued, remembering the club today, "I never knew that you were bisexual?"</p><p>She sort of choked on her mouthful of mashed potatoes, surprised at my choice of conversation. After drinking something, she wiped her mouth and laughed nervously. "Right, I forgot you were there today. Um, nobody knows except for the people in that club. So, please don't tell anyone. Especially Anna."</p><p>I frowned at her. "Why not Anna? She's your sister, she'd understand."</p><p>Elsa shook her head sadly. "We're not on very good terms right now. She would be even angrier if she knew that I had been keeping this from her."</p><p>I recalled their fight from a few nights ago, nodding slowly. "So, even Jack doesn't know?"</p><p>She looked up at me through her lashes timidly and slowly shook her head. "Wow," I commented, sitting back. Then I leaned back in and resumed my eating. "Well, can I ask you a personal question about it?"</p><p>She gave me a wary look, but I continued when she didn't reject. "How did you know?"</p><p>"That I was bi?" she asked.</p><p>I nodded. Elsa sighed and put her fork down. "Well – promise you won't tell anyone – but last year I had a huge crush on Jasmine, but then I had one on Jack. So I just looked it up and apparently I'm bi. It was pretty simple, actually."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Yep." She suddenly furrowed her brows. "Why?"</p><p>I froze. "Um, no reason." She gave me a pointed look. "Okay, fine," I gave in, using a quiet tone so no one could hear. "I may or may not be gay or bi or whatever."</p><p>"Really?" she asked, far too loudly as her face lit up.</p><p>I shushed her but nodded quickly. "Who is your crush?" she asked, her voice hungry for gossip.</p><p>My face turned red. "No one in particular," I lied, looking at my food.</p><p>Her face fell but she still didn't look convinced. "Well, if you need any help, talk to anyone in the club." I nodded and we ate the rest of our meals in silence.</p><p>When we returned to our rooms, my roommates were gone. I assumed they had gone down to dinner, so I began getting ready for bed. I climbed in, dressed in my cozy pajamas, and pulled the blanket to surround me.</p><p>And I thought. Was I gay? I mean, I've liked guys before. There were some attractive guys here. But girls are pretty. Really pretty.</p><p>Like Ariel. </p><p> </p><p>JASMINE'S POV</p><p>"Hey there," someone said, sliding into the seat across from me. I was eating dinner alone at the diner, trying to get some required reading done. I looked up and there sat Aladdin, smiling. I blushed slightly, closing my book.</p><p>"Hi. What are you doing here?"</p><p>"Just happened by the diner and remembered that I was starving. You don't mind if I sit here?" he asked, looking at me with deep chocolate eyes. I shook my head.</p><p>Rapunzel stopped by, taking Aladdin's order of a Coke and a basket of fries. "I thought you said you were starving," I said in a suspicious voice, smirking at him.</p><p>He looked up at me quickly. "Um, I am. This – this'll be enough."</p><p>I raised my eyes at the small quantity but went back to my salad. I cleared my throat. "So, did you have a nice time with Tiger?" His face turned bright red.</p><p>"Um, I, um, was actually going to end the relationship tonight."</p><p>I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Well, even though your relationship repulses me, make sure you don't hurt her feelings. She's my friend." He nodded, and I gave a small smile.</p><p>"HEY AL!" Phoebus, Naveen, John, and Robin shouted as they entered the restaurant, causing my head to snap up. I glanced at Aladdin and he grimaced.</p><p>"How ya doin', buddy?" Phoebus asked as he and the others squeezed into the booth.</p><p>Naveen pressed right up against me, saying a sultry voice, "Hey, baby."</p><p>"Ugh, get away," I said, scrunching up my nose and pushing myself as close to the wall as possible. But no one could hear me over the loud voices of the others.</p><p>"You're gettin' some, eh, Aladdin? Nice catch. Very hot choice," Naveen said, smirking.</p><p>I looked at Aladdin, repulsed, and he chuckled nervously, not meeting my eyes. "I mean – "</p><p>But they wouldn't let him finish as they yelled in congratulatory tones, smacking him on the back and eyeing me greedily. I rolled my eyes at them, trying not to show that I wanted to throw up, and then shoved Naveen's shoulder, asking to be let out. I gave Punz a twenty dollar bill as I stormed out of the diner, feeling violated and uncomfortable.</p><p>• • •</p><p>I walked, sulking, into my dorm room, and luckily no one was there. I pulled out my reading book and snuggled into bed after slipping on my black nightgown. Soon enough, Iridessa walked in at about 9. We greeted each other quietly and she sat down and did some homework.</p><p>At about 10, I had finished my reading and was about to go to sleep when there was a knock on the door. "Did Nala forget her key?" Iridessa muttered while moving to open it. I didn't bother to see who it was as I shut my eyes.</p><p>"Um, Jasmine lives here, right?" My eyes shot open and I sat up. There stood Aladdin in the doorway. Iridessa glanced at me but I was already standing up, walking over to them. Iridessa gave a small smile and went back to her bed.</p><p>I approached the doorway, brushing my black hair behind my ear. "What?" I demanded, still angry about what happened at the diner.</p><p>Aladdin looked at me sheepishly, twiddling his fingers. "Look, that, back there, that was a mistake – "</p><p>"A mistake?" I interrupted shrilly, my blood boiling. "That was no mistake. That was vulgar, they treated me like an object. I am not a prize to be won. And if you think so, you can leave." I was about to shut the door on his face, but he stopped it abruptly with his arm.</p><p>"I know that! I know that. I don't think you're an object, I think you're a beautiful, smart, independent woman. And my friends are huge di – "</p><p>"Just kiss already!" Iridessa yelled from inside the dorm. My eyes widened as I blushed, and Aladdin rubbed his neck and chuckled nervously.</p><p>I reached in an closed the door, blocking out Iridessa's giggles, and leaving the two of us alone in the hall. Aladdin took a breath. "I can show you who I really am. Want to go up to the pool?"</p><p>"Right now? But dorm check is in twenty minutes," I said, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms.</p><p>Aladdin raised his eyebrows in a challenge. "So? Do you trust me?" He held out his hand. I looked into his eyes, my heart beating furiously. It would be adventurous, that's for sure.</p><p>I took a breath. "Yes..." and took his hand. He grinned and took off down the hall, towards the staircase that no one ever uses. I laughed as I was dragged along, being pulled up the stairs.</p><p>We burst through the door to the rooftop pool, which was, of course, completely empty. The lights on the shades were twinkling, and the still water reflected them onto both of our faces. I looked at Aladdin, and he was staring straight at me. "Well?" I laughed, blushing. "What are we waiting for?" I dragged him to the edge, and jumped in, nightgown and all.</p><p>The warm water surprised me, and I resurfaced, giggling. I've never done anything like this, but I could be suspended for it. But right now, I didn't care. I didn't care about anything except for having fun. And it was so freeing.</p><p>Aladdin came up for air, spluttering. "Hey!" he said, looking at me and splashing me. "Why'd you pull me in?"</p><p>"Isn't that what you planned on doing?"</p><p>"Well, yeah, but I thought I'd be the one pulling you in," he confessed, smiling and pushing his thick black hair from his forehead. I laughed and ducked underwater again, savoring the peace.</p><p>When I came back up, Aladdin was simply looking at me. "So, you know, that wasn't me back there, right? My friends...are idiots. I don't think like they do. Please forgive me, Jaz."</p><p>I smiled. No one usually calls me by that nickname unless we're really close. "I do."</p><p>He beamed. "And I do think you are kind, beautiful, strong, independent, thoughtful, and adventurous and everything beyond."</p><p>Now it was my turn to beam. No one had ever told me that before, and it made me feel so...so...wonderful. I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted my lips on his. He hugged my waist to him and I cupped his cheeks, smiling into the kiss and my heart exploding.</p><p>My phone began ringing from the ground, and it wouldn't stop. I had to break the kiss and breathed heavily, smiling and pressing my forehead to his. "I'll be right back," I whispered, swimming to the ladder and climbing out, reaching my phone on the concrete. Nala was calling.</p><p>"Hello?" I answered.</p><p>"Jasmine, you're at the pool, right?" she asked, sounding terrified.</p><p>"Yes," I replied uncertainly.</p><p>"I think Lady Tremaine knows! She's taking the elevator up there now and if you don't leave, you're getting your ass kicked right out of here."</p><p>"Thank you!" I said quickly, hanging up and then whisper-yelling to Aladdin, "We have to go! Tremaine is coming!"</p><p>He immediately jumped out of the pool, grabbing my hand and we raced to the stairs again, leaving trails of water in our wake. I was laughing despite the risk, and the butterflies in my stomach would not go away. Whether it was from adrenaline or being lovestruck, I couldn't tell.</p><p>We reached my floor and I ran to my door, knocking hurriedly. Nala opened it with wide eyes. "Yes! You made it!" she said, grabbing my wrist and trying to pull me inside. I held back.</p><p>"Wait," I said, turning back to Aladdin and smiling. I kissed him quickly and waved, finally being dragged inside. The door was shut, but not before I saw his dumb smiling face looking awestruck, his eyes glossy. I grinned to myself.</p><p>"What was that? Did you go into the pool?" Nala asked, looking me up and down with my sopping wet nightgown and hair. I nodded and waltzed into the bathroom.</p><p>"Did you take my advice?" Iridessa gasped. I smirked at her and closed the door, hopping in the shower.</p><p>I changed into new silk pajamas and crawled into bed. Lady Tremaine came to check our room at 10:30, and through my almost-closed eyes I saw her frown at me. I pretended I was asleep and she grunted, shutting the door. I smiled to myself for the thousandth time on that wonderful night. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello friends! Finally a new chapter! I didn't realize how long it was. Anyway. Dmitri and Anya seem to be very close friends... Do you ship it? Also their friend group seems so cool, I want to be a part of it. Moana seems to be having trouble understanding her sexuality. Do you relate? Jasmine and Aladdin got romantic! I loved writing that part, and I was listening to the Aladdin soundtrack while doing so, it was so sweet. There's some exciting stuff coming up, like the slumber party and the laser tagging and the science presentations, all which will be drama filled.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite Disney song?</p><p>My answer: I love literally everything. I really like So This is Love, I See the Light, A Whole New World...</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MOANA'S POV</p><p>The minute I woke up, I was stressed. This has been one of the most stressful weeks I've had in a long time; Kristoff and Anna have been bothering me, we've had a lot of Grease rehearsals, I've had tests in almost all of my classes, we have the slumber party tonight, tomorrow the dance team was going to San Diego for a competition, and in about an hour I had my science presentation.</p><p>I got out of bed reluctantly, following Ariel to the showers. After pulling my hair into a braid, I put on some black jeans and a grey collared sweater. I went back to my room to grab my backpack and finish the job of looking presentable, and then Rapunzel went down with me to breakfast since we were the only ones ready.</p><p>"So, are you ready for the dance competition?" she asked as she put eggs, fruit, and a muffin onto her plate. I grabbed some sausage, hash browns, toast, and apple juice as I groaned.</p><p>"No. I just want this whole week to be over. Plus, I don't think we're ready since Vanessa joined," I replied, finding us a small table. Vanessa had been allowed onto the dance team despite the rules objecting it, and everyone thinks that her mom bribed Principal Mickey to let it slip. She now joined us in practices after school and it was messing us all up.</p><p>"I know, right? Why was she even let on the team in the first place?" Rapunzel said, stuffing her face with her blueberry muffin.</p><p>I shrugged, watching with narrowed eyes as Vanessa stalked across the room to meet with Eric, who did not look very pleased. We finished our breakfasts and walked over to campus, talking about what we were going to pack for the San Diego trip.</p><p>We walked to science together after we stopped at each other's lockers, and I took a deep breath as I joined my group of Vanessa and Ariel. This was going to be interesting.</p><p>I sat down, pulling out my index cards for my portion of my presentation. Ariel and I went over a couple of things, until we had a couple of seconds before the bell rang.</p><p>"Okay, I think we're all set!" I said to Ariel, glaring at Vanessa who hadn't done any work. She had complained that she was busy, and that she didn't even need to work on the project because her mom would give her an A. So, Ariel and I did the whole thing on our own.</p><p>"Can I see your note cards for a second?" Vanessa asked sweetly, smiling and batting her lashes. Her hand was outstretched.</p><p>I gave her a wary side eye, drawing the cards closer to me. "Why?" I interrogated suspiciously.</p><p>"I just want to make sure we're on the same page," Vanessa explained, holding up her own note cards. How would she have anything on them? She doesn't even know what the project's about.</p><p>"Just give them to her, Mo. She'll have us both in detention if we don't," Ariel muttered in my ear, taking my notes and handing them both over to Vanessa, saying, "You promise you'll give them back?"</p><p>"Of course, of course. Thanks!" she chirped, smiling slyly and glancing over them. I looked at Ariel but she shrugged in a way that told me not to worry about it. <br/>Ms. Sea cleared her throat. "All right class, I will go by alphabetical order to see which group goes first," she announced, looking on her role sheet. "Ariel's group, go."</p><p>My group stood up and walked to the front, where Ariel set up the presentation to project onto the white board. Vanessa still had our note cards that we needed to give the presentation. "Vanessa," I hissed, trying to move closer to the girl who still held our papers. "Give us our notes."</p><p>She glanced at me, pursing her lips. "Hmm..." she mused, tapping her long finger to her chin menacingly. "Well, Moana, I actually want to keep these for a while. They're very good notes. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them."</p><p>My blood was boiling and I felt my face heat up, my eyes narrowing. "You promised!" I spat, swiping for them desperately.</p><p>She plucked them out of my reach, waving her finger and taunting, "Ah ah ah! I promised to give them back at some point. You never said when." And with that, Vanessa took her place while Ariel finished projecting the slides, motioning to me urgently about the note cards. I angrily jerked my head towards Vanessa, and Ariel's face immediately morphed into a glower to match mine. The presentation began.</p><p>"Good morning class. My name is Vanessa Sea and I did my project on the properties of water versus salt water," Vanessa began with a clear voice, flashing a dazzling smile.</p><p>I cleared my throat, not letting her ruin this presentation for us. "So for ourfirst experiment – "</p><p>"We tested the acidity of water and salt water," Vanessa interrupted, reading off of my index card. I shot a look to her and she just returned it with a snide grin.</p><p>Ariel tried to jump in. "To do this, Moana and I used three different strategies. First, we – "</p><p>"First I used litmus paper, then a digital meter, and finally reagent drops," said Vanessa, taking over the whole project. She continued like that for the next five minutes, butting in and using our notes to take over the presentation. At the end, the credits, which Ariel and I had not added, flashed on the screen. Research: Vanessa Sea. Report: Vanessa Sea. Project Idea: Vanessa Sea. Presentation: Vanessa Sea.The name was still flashing before my eyes as she finished the presentation and the class clapped, looking confused.</p><p>"Thank you, thank you," Vanessa said, beaming and curtseying.</p><p>Ursula cleared her throat from the back of the room, making me gulp. "Miss Atlantica and Miss Motunui, did you do any work on this project at all?"</p><p>"Yes, in fact, we did the whole thi – " I began earnestly, hoping to bring some justice into this situation.</p><p>"Because according to Vanessa," Ursula continued as if she hadn't heard me, "she was the only one who did any work, and it seems that you have nothing to prove otherwise. Vanessa, you've earned an A. You two get a D."</p><p>Ariel and I gasped, my stomach dropping. "What?" we both cried. Vanessa smirked and sauntered over to us. <br/>"Don't take it personally, girls. Oh, and here are your notes," she purred, shoving them at us. I gaped, smoke coming out of my ears.</p><p>"Ms. Sea! This isn't fair!" Ariel protested.</p><p>"Quiet, Atlantica. If you both don't stop causing a ruckus, you'll have detention too," Ursula sneered, writing down our unfair grades.</p><p>Ariel and I looked at each other and silently agreed to stop, stomping back to our seats and scowling through the rest of the period.</p><p> </p><p>MULAN'S POV</p><p>I jogged out to the field at sixth period. I wasn't as nervous for the game tonight as I had been last week, but I had been improving a lot. Tonight we were competing with Illumination Academy on their campus, so we wouldn't be the home team.</p><p>Gaston and Adam have still been giving me bull over the past week, probably mad that I had outshone the whole team by winning the homecoming game. But it didn't bother me as much. Hercules and Shang were keeping close eyes on them, and I had learned to either ignore them or snap back.</p><p>"All right, boys. Today is our first away game, so we'd better show those Illumination losers what we've got. Capeesh?" Coach Phil said, stomping up and down the line of football players.</p><p>"Yes, Coach Phil," we responded.</p><p>"Good. Now go split in half and practice. You know what to do."</p><p>Hans raised his hand right before we could split and everyone rolled their eyes. So did Phil. "Yes, Isles?" he asked, annoyed.</p><p>"Should we put on our helmets?" Hans asked.</p><p>Phil thought on it. "No, but just don't tackle each other to the ground. I don't want to waste time by going all the way back to the locker rooms. Now go!" <br/>We split, clapping, and put ourselves into two teams – white shirts and jerseys. I was with the jerseys. We began our mock game, everything running smoothly. Adam and Gaston would shoot me glares and snarls and try to aim for me when mock-tackling, but with my agility I evaded them.</p><p>On our last play, it was my turn to make the play that had won the game last Friday. I ran to the touchdown line, my jersey teammates blocking the t-shirt guys, and waited for Herc to throw the ball. But, with less team mates, I forgot to watch for myself. No one was there to protect me.</p><p>All at once, the football came flying towards me. Out of the corner of my eye, Gaston was barreling toward me. The football seemed closer, so if I could just catch it our team would win.</p><p>I thought wrong. Gaston steamrolled right into me, sending my small body flying a couple of yards. I couldn't breathe, and I landed hard on the turf, smacking my head in the process. I gasped for air, my lungs burning and my head spinning. White and gold specks began to float in front of my eyes, and I couldn't focus on Gaston's sneering, harsh face floating above me. "Mulan!" I heard Shang's voice call, but he seemed miles away.</p><p>And then everything was gone.</p><p>• • •</p><p>I slowly woke up, peeling my eyes open to reveal bright lights and talking everywhere. My ears were ringing and my vision was still fuzzy, and all the activity was making my head hurt.</p><p>"And what happened to cause the injury?" someone asked close to me. I looked over slowly, not wanting my head to throb more than it already did.</p><p>"Um, being tackled in football practice," a gruff voice replied. I heard the first person tsk and I grimaced, closing my eyes. I wanted to go back to sleep.</p><p>"Mulan?" a third voice murmured, grabbing my hand tighter. I begrudgingly opened my eyes again and turned towards the voice, wincing at a sharp pain in my chest. It was Shang.</p><p>"Where...where am I?" I managed out, slurring my words.</p><p>"You're in the ER," he responded, grinning that I was talking.</p><p>I frowned. "Why? What about school?"</p><p>Shang looked worriedly at the person on the other side of the bed. "Um, you got a concussion and possibly a broken rib during football practice."</p><p>"Oh. Really? I don't remember. How?"</p><p>The first voice said, "I'm going to prepare a room for her."</p><p>"You all right, sweetheart?" Phil's voice asked with concern. I gave a weak smile.</p><p>"Better than ever. Why wouldn't I be?" I paused, looking around. My mind seemed blank. "Where am I?" I asked, confused at the bright lights and bustling room. Everyone seemed to be hurt, but I wasn't, so why was I here?</p><p>Shang and Phil looked at each other but didn't answer my question. I closed my eyes again and easily fell back into sleep.</p><p>• • •</p><p>The rest of the afternoon was filled with tests and scans and doctors. I could only vaguely remember why I was in the hospital; the most I could grasp was that I had gotten hurt during football practice.</p><p>The doctors reported to me after the test results that I had a cracked rib and a concussion. I was allowed to go home the next morning, and if I complied to all of the recommendations, I would be completely healed in about 6 weeks. Until then, I had to have shorter school days, couldn't engage in too much mental activity, and couldn't resume my football playing until I had revisited the doctor and was given the okay to do so. By the time I got back, I would only be able to play one or two games before the season ended. This year was going great for me so far.</p><p>I was lying in my rustling hospital bed, mourning my sport, when there was a knock on the door. I looked up. In walked Ariel, Rapunzel, Tiger, Anna, Elsa, Anya, Belle, Merida, Nani, Silvermist, Vidia, Fawn, Iridessa, Judy, Esme, Tia, Lottie, Meg, Jaz, Poca, Nala, Audrey, Mittens, Kida, and Jane, all with concerned looks on their faces. I smiled. "Hey," I said to them.</p><p>Tia, Kida, Poca, and Esme rushed towards me, grasping onto my legs or the edge of my bed. They and all the others exploded with questions.</p><p>"Are you okay?"</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"People say it was Gaston."</p><p>"When will you be back?"</p><p>"We were worried sick."</p><p>I appreciated their concern, but the sudden volume and business made my head throb painfully. I shut my eyes and waved my hands at them, trying to breathe. "Wait, people, back up," Nala said softly, gently pulling my friends away from me. I internally thanked her.</p><p>I opened my eyes and surveyed them all. "Does the doctor know you're in here? Because you are way to much mental activity," I said jokingly, laughing but then immediately regretting it as my ribs seared.</p><p>They looked too scared to laugh with me.</p><p>I took a deep breath, which also hurt a bit. "I have a concussion – " there were gasps " – and a cracked rib."</p><p>"Oh, goodness," Iridessa whispered, fanning herself.</p><p>"I'm coming home tomorrow," I continued. There were sighs of relief. "But need to keep away from any activities, including hard school. So guess what, you're all helping me do my work!" There were a few wary laughs.</p><p>They came forward more calmly again, and told me that the football game was going on right now. They told me about how they found out and what had happened to Gaston. Apparently, he was suspended for two weeks. That made me grin.</p><p>"Is this the first time he assaulted you?" Tiana asked, narrowing her eyes. I knew she knew something had been up.</p><p>I fiddled with my sheer blanket, not meeting their eyes as I replied quietly, "Well, no." They looked among each other. "He's, um, threatened me before. But I thought I could deal with it. It's never been thisphysical before."</p><p>"But, he has been physical?" Anya asked. I nodded slowly. The others whispered.</p><p>"How so?" asked Vidia. I took another breath.</p><p>"He's slammed me against a locker and choked me. And also tripped me, which is why I fractured my wrists. And he just is constantly threatening me."</p><p>"We have got to tell Principal Mickey about this," Kida stated firmly, earning shouts of agreement. "Stuff like this could get him expelled."</p><p>I smiled, and we continued talking until I told them that my head was hurting and that I needed sleep. They immediately let me go and said goodbye, giving me well wishes and Merida, Poca, and Kida promising they'd help me come home tomorrow.</p><p>I fell into a nice sleep again before another knock awoke me.</p><p>"Can we come in?" Giselle asked quietly, hanging around the doorframe. My breath caught as I nodded slowly. The whole cheerleading and football team filed in: Aurora, Snow, Lottie, Giselle, Edward, Drizella, Anastasia, Florian, Henry, Tink, Rosetta, Marie, Marian, Eliwony, Cindy, Hercules, John, Tarzan, Hans, Phoebus, Shang, Tramp, Aladdin, Toulouse, Naveen, Simba. I grinned at their appearance, and especially when Giselle floated up to my bedside, her eyes looking red from crying. Her chin quivered as she saw me in my crippled state.</p><p>"Are you okay, Mulan?" she asked softly, her voice catching. I heart caught with it.</p><p>I cleared my throat, which hurt my ribs, but refused to flinch. "Yes, I'm okay," I replied, looking straight at her. The whole cheerleading team except for the Tremaine sisters and Marie sighed in relief.</p><p>"We lost badly tonight," Simba said, looking sad.</p><p>"Yeah, it's all because we didn't have our good luck charm," Tarzan said kindly. Someone patted my leg. It took all my energy to keep my grin from wrapping around my head. <br/>"Thanks you guys. But I'm afraid you'll have to live without me for a couple of weeks."</p><p>Everyone looked solemn at the news, but we continued talking about the drama that had happened today. That is, until my nurse shooed them out.</p><p>"Can I stay a couple minutes?" Giselle asked hopefully. The nurse sighed but nodded, ushering the rest out. My heart pounded. Why would Giselle want to stay behind?</p><p>She sat delicately on the side of my bed, right next to my legs. I hoped she couldn't feel their racing pulse. She looked deeply into my eyes with her sapphire blue ones. "I'm really glad you're okay," she began.</p><p>I smiled. "Thanks. Me too." That was an idiotic thing to say.</p><p>She nodded, smiling lightly. "I'll help you with your homework and schoolwork. I told Principal Mickey that I would walk you home at lunch because you need to have early days. And I'll make sure that you have everything you need."</p><p>I began to protest, my cheeks turning red. "No, Giselle, that's so kind, but you don't have to do that – "</p><p>She quickly put a finger to my lips, and I looked down at it and my face turned even redder. She giggled, taking it away as I was too dumbstruck to continue. She spoke, "I want to. I want to spend extra time with you."</p><p>I smiled. "Me, too."</p><p>Giselle grinned again, standing up. Her pink dress billowed to her ankles, and her gorgeous ginger locks tumbled down her back gracefully. She walked up to the head of my bed. </p><p>Then she kissed me on the cheek. </p><p>My heart stopped. </p><p>"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered, smiled, and then walked out of the room, leaving me staring in awe after her.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello my friends! How has your life been going? How'd you enjoy this chapter? Vanessa sure is a witch, huh? What do you think is the worst she can do? How do you feel about Mulan's injury? Will everything be all right? What will happen between her and Giselle?  What is going to go down at the dance competition? </p><p>I basically have the next chapter already written, so it'll come out soon. It is this day split into two parts because it was so long. </p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite book?</p><p>My answer: oh my god, I have no idea at all. I mean, asking me to choose a favorite book is literally impossible. I've read so many and enjoyed so much I don't know where to start. I do love the Harry Potter series, the Lunar Chronicles, Chronicles of Narnia, and literally every single book I've ever read. IM SORRY I CAN'T REMEMBER EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ANYA'S POV</p><p>"You idiot, you're wearing white! You'll stick out like a sore thumb," Nala said, hitting Dmitri. He looked down at his white t-shirt.</p><p>"I didn't know," Dmitri said, shrugging.</p><p>"Well, you won't be the champion," I said, laughing. "It's just between the four of us now." I gestured to Flynn, Tramp, and Nala, as well as myself.</p><p>Tramp gasped. "What if one of the little kids beat all of us?"</p><p>I laughed, but Flynn's face darkened. "I will not let that happen," he said in an evil voice.</p><p>We all chuckled, and then boarded the bus because none of us had a car.</p><p>We got off at a bus stop per Tramp's directions, so I wasn't completely sure if we were in the right place. But Tramp successfully used his phone's GPS and led us to the laser tag place, named Lazer Dayz. We walked in, laughing, and the parents and children waiting in the lobby looked at us. I stared down the small children, asserting my dominance before they even thought about beating me. We walked up to the front desk and each paid the separate fee of $20.</p><p>Then our group and some kids were led into a dark room by an employee, who looked about our age. "Welcome to Lazer Dayz. I will show an instructional video and then afterward you will get your vests and I will answer questions," he said dully, pointing a remote at one of the TVs and turned it on. A badly shot, cheesy video played, which my friends and I laughed at, not really paying attention.</p><p>Next, the employee let us choose our team vests. Nala and I had red, Dmitri and Tramp had green, Flynn got blue. I unlatched my laser gun and started fake shooting at Dmitri, who laughed and pretended to be wounded. I checked my ID number on the vest to so I could see what my score was afterward, and then the employee announced that we would be released into the arena in two minutes.</p><p>"You boys are going down," Nala said, tapping her gun against her hand menacingly.</p><p>"Oh yeah? I'm on my team alone and I will beat you all," Flynn boasted, pushing her.</p><p>She laughed, but I saw a couple of kids look in our direction, terrified. But one kid with a blue vest at Flynn's elbow piped up. "Yeah, you red, you're going down!"</p><p>I giggled. Flynn nudged him playfully and said, "That's right, little buddy. How about we partner up?" The little boy nodded happily, showing his lost front tooth.</p><p>I looked up at Dmitri, who seemed to be having a problem with his gun. "No, you have to put your hand under it, like this," I told him, moving his palm to the bottom of the gun. "Weren't you paying attention to the video?" I joked. We had, in fact, been whispering about how I was going to destroy him in his white shirt. He laughed. "You're really going to suck at this game," I said to him, smirking.</p><p>"All right, gamers!" the employee shouted, him and another teenager preparing to open the doors. "Get ready! GO!"</p><p>I raced into the arena next to Nala, being somewhat disoriented by the darkness. It was pitch black except there were black lights shining on the apparatuses, making them glow distractingly. "Let's find our base!" I shouted to Nala. There were already kids screaming in terror. She nodded and we dashed off, following the red glows, up a ramp and eventually reaching our protected base.</p><p>"I'm guarding it, you guys go!" some fierce red little girl shouted, pointing her gun. I laughed and nodded, running away. I lost Nala, but I didn't care. I was going to find the others and take them down.</p><p>I ran through the darkness, bumping into a small child once or twice (and shooting them afterward). I hid behind a glowing tube, pretty sure I had seen Tramp on the other side. I twirled around it, my gun lifted. "Aha!" I yelled, but I crashed into him, causing us to laugh. But I regained myself quickly and shot him easily on the shoulder, causing his gun to deactivate for ten seconds.</p><p>"Hey!" he cried as I scurried away, running before he could shoot me. I shot more children with my lasers, and avoided getting hit. These people had really bad aim.</p><p>I hid behind another pole, convinced I had spotted Flynn darting around with his tiny pal. I was also out of breath. This vest was stifling, and running around wasn't making it any easier to breath. I felt sweat crawling down my neck.</p><p>Suddenly someone with a green vest appeared in front of me, also breathing hard. "Dmitri!" I exclaimed, smiling.</p><p>I prepared to shoot him, but he put his hands on the pole over my head, and then smashed his lips to mine. My eyes widened in shock, but then I melted into it, grinning. I felt like it lasted forever – and I wanted it to last even longer. His lips were slow and soft and passionate, and my knees almost buckled beneath me. He eventually pulled away, smiling, our noses still touching. I looked up at him, and he pushed himself off the pole.</p><p>And then he shot me, smirking, and dashed away. I gasped. He shot me! That brat! I laughed to myself and ran in his direction, trying to catch the breath that he had stolen from me. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL'S POV</p><p>"Have fun, Ariel! We'll be ready for the party when you get back!" Anna, Moana, and I shouted as Ariel left for Grease rehearsal. We shut the door behind her and I turned back to the room and sighed, staring at the empty suitcase lying on my bed. It was time to pack for San Diego.</p><p>"All right, you guys, I'm off to get more snacks and the face masks for tonight. Want anything in particular?" Anna said, standing by the open door with her purse in hand.</p><p>"Skittles!" Moana cried, smiling.</p><p>Anna laughed. "All right. See you later! Have fun packing!" She was almost out the door until I stopped her.</p><p>"Wait!" She paused, popping her head back in questioningly. "Are you going alone?" I asked, concerned.</p><p>Anna chuckled and shook her head. "Elsa's coming with me. Even if I was alone, it's only two blocks away. I'm a big girl."</p><p>I laughed, saying "yeah, okay" mockingly.</p><p>Anna feigned hurt, but then I switched the topic. "You made up with your sister?"</p><p>Anna nodded. "I don't hold grudges very easily. And I told her that Kristoff and I aren't technically exclusive yet, so that made her feel better. This is our sister forgiveness grocery store trip."</p><p>I smiled. "That's good. Have fun!"</p><p>Anna giggled and then disappeared into the hallway. I looked at my closet. "Okay. Let's get packing," I announced, placing my hands on my hips.</p><p>I laid out the outfit I was going to wear on the bus tomorrow: comfy leggings, a white shirt, and purple cardigan. Then I grabbed undergarments and I carefully hung my and Moana's dance costumes on the door. I then put another day outfit in my bag for the day we got there, plus an evening outfit and then pajamas, as well as another for the day we come back. I planned to pack toiletries tomorrow morning after I used them. I zipped my suitcase closed just as Anna burst in with Elsa, her arms full of shopping bags.</p><p>"I'm back!" she sang, dumping all the candy with the candy we already had on her desk. Elsa stood at the door, smiling.</p><p>"Hey Elsa!" Moana said happily, going over to hug her. I furrowed my eyebrows. They were unusually close all of a sudden.</p><p>"Hi, Moana. I hear you're having a slumber party?" Elsa said, glancing around our room. Moana nodded.</p><p>"You wanna join?" she asked kindly, but I inwardly shook my head furiously. Slumber parties were supposed to be for the dorm only.</p><p>Elsa chuckled. "No, it's all right. I have a date with Jack tonight. Thanks, though."</p><p>Moana nodded.</p><p>"Thanks for coming, sis! Have fun with Jack!" Anna said, wiggling her eyebrows as she hugged her sister.</p><p>Elsa laughed, thanked her, and then wished us goodbye. We waved and then began setting up for the party. We placed a mountain of blankets and pillows on the ground, right across from the TV where we had lined up movies such as The Notebook, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sixteen Candles, Clueless, Love Actually, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Anna put the candy in bowls and laid out the face masks and nail polish. We stood back and admired our handiwork, the perfect setup for the perfect slumber party. "I'll order the pizza!" Anna yelled excitedly, diving for her laptop. "What kind do you guys want?"</p><p>"Pepperoni!" Moana answered, beginning to change into her cozy pajamas.</p><p>"Just cheese, please," I told her. "I'll ask Ariel what she wants." I glanced at the time. It was 6:05. Her rehearsal should've just ended.</p><p>Hey, Ari, you heading home? What kind of pizza do you want?</p><p>"And I, of course, will have the meat lovers," Anna announced, clicking around on the website. "We want garlic bread, right?"</p><p>"Of course!" Moana and I answered in unison, laughing.</p><p>My phone buzzed, and so did the others'. It was from Ariel.</p><p>hey guys go on without me. guess who i'm going to dinner with!!!</p><p>Anna squealed immediately, hurriedly smashing the keys and sending a text back.</p><p>OMG!!!!!!!!!!! ERIC???????????????</p><p>yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have fun! rain check?</p><p>Def. go get your man hun!</p><p>I giggled at Anna's reaction, but looked up, disappointed. "Well, I guess it's just us three," Moana stated.</p><p>"Darn it! I even remembered to get Ariel's Starburst!" Anna exclaimed sadly, but then her face brightened. "Well I guess that means we'll have to eat them ourselves."</p><p>We laughed and Anna placed the pizza order, and then she and I changed into our comfiest pajamas as well. I dove into the pile of blankets after grabbing a soda from our fridge, and turned on the TV. "What do you guys want to watch first?"</p><p>"The Breakfast Club!" Anna shouted from the bathroom. She was washing her face.</p><p>"Yeah!" Moana agreed, bouncing next to me. I directed the TV to Netflix and began the movie. Anna's phone buzzed.</p><p>"The pizza's here!" she said excitedly.</p><p>"I'll get it," Moana said, jumping up.</p><p>"Thanks, Mo!" I said, and we both handed her money. She walked out of the room in her polka-dotted pajama set. We paused movie and sat there in silence.</p><p>"I wish Ariel could come," I said sadly, playing with the blanket and popping a Hershey kiss in my mouth.</p><p>Anna nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I get it that she wanted to spend time with Eric, but it was kind of not cool for her to blow us off like that." I nodded in agreement and then Moana appeared again, holding three boxes of pizza and a bag of garlic bread. Anna and I shrieked in excitement as she set it down in front of us, and we opened the box to reveal heavenly, cheesy goodness. We dove in, beginning the movie again.</p><p>Once we had finished all three boxes of pizza and all the garlic bread, we were onto our third movie, Mean Girls. "Oh my god, that was a lot of food," Anna groaned, holding her stomach.</p><p>I nodded, barely able to speak.</p><p>"Face masks?" Moana suggested, holding up the packages. I smiled and sat up, grabbing the cherry one. I applied the cucumber one to Moana's face, Moana put the peach one on Anna, and Anna applied mine – well, almost.</p><p>"Oops!" she cried, dropping the wet cloth on the blanket.</p><p>"Anna!" we said in exasperation, laughing.</p><p>"Well, good thing I got four!" she chirped, holding up the one for Ariel. We giggled and she successfully put it onto my face, and then we finished Mean Girls.</p><p>We began scrolling through Netflix, this time not being able to choose something. I sighed, throwing down the remote. Anna suddenly turned to us. "Let's talk about crushes," she said wickedly, grinning. I laughed.</p><p>"No, thanks," Moana said, making another bag of microwave popcorn.</p><p>"Aw, come on, Mo! At slumber parties, it's a requirement to talk about crushes! If you don't, we'll kick you into the hall and leave you to the mercy of Lady Tremaine," I told her seriously, and she laughed warily. She threw a piece of popcorn into the air and failed at catching it.</p><p>"Well, you can't make me say anything."</p><p>"Fine, I'll go first," I said chivalrously, tilting my chin up. "Except, I don't really have a crush right now."</p><p>Anna scoffed. "Oh, come on, Punz. Yes you do. At least a small one, huh?"</p><p>I sighed, brushing a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "Well, truthfully, I'm still getting over my crush on Jack."</p><p>Moana gasped. "You had a crush on Jack?"</p><p>I nodded sheepishly, blushing. "When I first became friends with him last year, I was obsessed with him. But then he met Elsa, and...yeah." I glanced over at Anna, but she seemed unfazed.</p><p>"Wow," Moana said simply.</p><p>"Now it's your turn, Mo!" Anna declared, jumping on the pillows and shoving a handful of M&amp;Ms into her mouth.</p><p>Moana shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with her fingers. "No, I really don't want to, you guys."</p><p>Anna and I glanced at each other. "So it must be a really juicy one, huh?" I probed, smiling jokingly. Moana glanced up at me and I laughed.</p><p>"Oh, come on, Moana, we won't tell anyone. We're really good at keeping secrets," Anna promised, leaning forward. Moana gulped and closed her eyes.</p><p>She inhaled and opened them with fierce determination. "Okay, you promise you won't tell anyone? Anyone?"</p><p>My friend and I nodded feverishly. "This stays between us three and us three only," she continued. "You can't even tell Kristoff, Anna." We continued nodding, on the edges of our seats. I was pretty sure where this was going; the glances, the blushes, all had given Moana away.</p><p>Moana let out a deep breath. "I like Ariel," she whispered. Anna's and my eyes widened.</p><p>Suddenly, we both squealed at the same time: "I KNEW IT!"</p><p>Moana gaped. "Sh!" We giggled and quieted down, silencing our laughs and celebration. "You knew it? How?" she asked.</p><p>"You are so in love, Mo," Anna said knowingly, leaning back on a pillow. "We could tell from a mile away."</p><p>"I'm not in love!" Moana retorted stubbornly, crossing her arms.</p><p>Anna and I shared a look.</p><p>"I'm not!" she cried.</p><p>"Yeah, okay, Mo," Anna said, smiling. Moana stuck her tongue out at her, but when she looked away I could see a grin forming on her face.</p><p>And with that we began another movie.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Who else loved that Anya x Dmitri part???? Squueeeeeeeeeee!!! First of all, how do you feel about Anya and her friends and also the Anya and Dmitri biz that's going on?? How about how do you feel about Moana and Ariel now that Mo has confessed?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Do you like having slumber parties? What is your favorite activity to do at them?</p><p>My answer: Yes! I love throwing them for my friends, especially Christmas themed ones. My favorite part is probably the gossip when we're all in our little sleeping bags/blankets/beds and like, all the tea is spilled, lol.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ARIEL'S POV</p><p>After I finished my homework, I rushed to the theater, filled with jitters. I made sure to stop in the bathroom to fix my hair and put on some lip gloss, making myself look presentable for two hours of rehearsal with Eric.</p><p>I entered campus for the second time that Friday, heading straight for the theater. Aurora was already there, walking dreamily around the stage while Ms. Terpsichore, Ms. Calliope, and Mr. Scar conversed quietly.</p><p>The dance teacher looked up as I walked in and her face split into a grin. "Ariel! How are you?" I smiled as I walked up to the stage to join Aurora, replying to Terpsichore happily.</p><p>"Are you ready?" Aurora asked as I threw my bag backstage, walking out to join her.</p><p>I took a breath. "I don't know. I think so," I said quietly, wiggling my fingers to start warming myself up. Philip arrived shortly afterwards, greeting me and then sweeping Rora into a kiss. I looked at them wistfully.</p><p>Finally, Eric arrived, walking down the row with his blue eyes twinkling with his smile. "Sorry I'm late," he said, pulling himself onto the stage with ease.</p><p>"Quite all right, Mr. Caspian. You still have a minute to spare," Scar said, giving a rare smile and putting on his glasses to read his notes.</p><p>"All right, everybody, hello and welcome to the first leads rehearsal!" Calli, the choir teacher announced, clapping her hands. "Today we'll be working on the finale of the show, including the songs 'You're the One That I Want' and 'We Go Together.' Obviously we don't have all of the stage props and sets, but we will work on the energy, acting, and singing today. We will mostly work with Eric and Aurora, but Philip and Ariel will get to run it a couple times. We'll switch you up sometimes too. Remember, as understudies, you are supposed to be paying attention and learning. Sound good?"</p><p>We nodded and my stomach jumped at the thought of being paired with Eric for part of it. Especially during these songs since Sandy is so...provocative.</p><p>We began by singing the first song, all of us, with just our scripts and the notes. Then Eric and Aurora sang it together, and then me and Philip. Then we moved on to do the same thing with We Go Together, but it was a little more difficult since it was more of an ensemble song. All of us had trouble with the gibberish we say, so we practiced that a bit before going off script as much as possible. Now was time to work on the acting.</p><p>Aurora and Eric ran it through, Aurora working on being "sexy." My face burned and a knot formed in my stomach at the thought of her seducing Eric, but I reminded myself that they both had relationships; she had Philip and Eric had Vanessa. So what did I care that she was pretend seducing him? It was just acting.</p><p>Then it was my and Philip's turn, and I couldn't stop blushing. Being sensual was not my thing. Philip kept laughing happily at me, saying, "It's all right, Ariel, it's just acting." I nodded sheepishly and tried to take a deep breath and start over, but it just wasn't working.</p><p>"All right, this isn't going very well. Let's switch things up a bit," Terpsichore groaned, holding her forehead. "Ariel go with Eric, and you two lovebirds together."</p><p>Philip and Aurora giggled, immediately latching on to each other. I glanced at Eric, pushing my hair behind my ears and my heart pounding furiously. He smiled at me.</p><p>"Ariel and Eric, go first. Ariel, you've got to let yourself go! Feel the music!" Mr. Scar said, taking off his glasses and massaging his temples. I bit my lip and nodded, taking another breath.</p><p>I walked to my place off stage and shook myself, closing my eyes and then stalking onstage. I tried to channel Vanessa, who is always sashaying around with her hips swinging.</p><p>I walked onto the stage, my hands in an imaginary leather jacket as I eyed Eric. "Sandy!" Eric exclaimed, looking me up and down.</p><p>"Tell me about it...stud," I purred to him, taking the imaginary cigarette out of my mouth and licking my lip. The music began to play and I felt a rush of adrenaline take over, the words flowing through my mouth as sultry as I could make them. I was blushing the whole time, but it felt oddly freeing. Also, Eric was grinning at me with those twinkling blue eyes, so maybe that's what filled me with the rush of courage.</p><p>We finished the song as I jumped into his arms bridal style, panting and staring into each other's eyes, dazed smiles dancing across our faces. Calliope, Terpsichore, and Mr. Scar all began clapping as the choir teacher praised, "Much, much better. Very good, you two!"</p><p>I hopped out of his arms and smiled, patting down my t-shirt and not meeting his eyes anymore. We switched with Aurora and Philip, sitting to the side and going over words while we watched them sing to each other.</p><p>"All right, you two, very good. We'll take a short break," Mr. Scar announced. We all went for our water bottles and the teachers began playing the music again, going over some choreography.</p><p>I began dancing to the recording of the actual song, closing my eyes and giggling. I waved my arms around and jumped, mouthing the words and bopping my head to the tune. Aurora laughed at me, clapping. I laughed and opened my eyes, and suddenly spotted Eric staring at me from across the stage. My face began to burn as I turned away quickly, hiding my face. "Oh my god, did he see that?" I asked Aurora in a frenzied whisper, covering my face with my hair. She glanced over at him.</p><p>"Who, Eric?"</p><p>I nodded.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>I groaned. "Did I look completely stupid?"<br/>She chuckled and shook her head. "No, Ariel. It was cute." She paused. "You really like him, don't you?"</p><p>I flushed and looked up at her. "Is it that obvious?" I said in a hushed and worried tone.</p><p>Aurora's eyes flashed up to him. "No..." she said slowly.</p><p>"You hesitated."</p><p>"Well, okay, it's obvious to me! But not to guys. Trust me, guys never see things that are right under their noses," she said knowingly, glancing over at Philip. I followed it, but didn't question her. I nodded and we began rehearsal again.</p><p>•••</p><p>"All right, you four, very good work today. We'll meet like this every other week, is that all right?" Terpsichore announced, looking around at the four sweaty high-schoolers in front of her. We nodded. "Great. Have a nice night."</p><p>We all moved towards our bags back stage, Aurora and I, Philip and Eric chattering. As I grabbed my backpack, shoving my water bottle in it quickly and pulling out my phone, Eric walked up to me.</p><p>"Hey, Ariel," Eric said as if we hadn't just been in a rehearsal together for two hours.</p><p>My breath caught nonetheless as I looked up, choking out a "hey."</p><p>"Um...you did well tonight," he said, smiling. I blushed.</p><p>"Thanks. You too."</p><p>He cleared his throat, rubbing his neck. "So, are you doing anything afterward?"</p><p>I gaped, eyes widening. "Um – uh – I – "</p><p>"It's okay, sorry, you must have plans already," he said nervously, chuckling.</p><p>"No! No, I don't! Um, were you doing anything?" I stammered out, smiling.</p><p>He glanced up at me through his eyelashes, a grin forming. "I was just about to go to the diner, but I'd rather do so with a friend...?"</p><p>I let out a breath, smiling at my feet.</p><p>"Do you want to come with me?" he asked.</p><p>I beamed and looked up. "Yes! Yes, that'd be great." At that moment, my phone buzzed in my hand and I glanced at it. It was Rapunzel.</p><p>Hey, Ari, you heading home? What kind of pizza do you want?</p><p>I groaned. I had totally forgotten about the slumber party. I looked between Punz's text and Eric. "Everything all right?" he asked.</p><p>I startled, laughing. "Yeah, yeah, it's good. Um, shall we leave?" He nodded and grabbed his bag, the two of us walking out of the theater after Aurora and Philip. I quickly texted our dorm group chat.</p><p>hey guys go on without me. guess who i'm going to dinner with!!!</p><p>Anna texted back in seconds.</p><p>OMG!!!!!!!!!!! ERIC???????????????</p><p>I giggled and replied,</p><p>yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have fun! rain check?</p><p>Def. go get your man hun!</p><p>I smiled and slipped my phone away, fiddling with my fingers as we endured an awkward walk outside. "So," I began, nervously beginning conversation. "How do you feel about the musical?"</p><p>Eric sighed. "It's good! It's exciting, but kind of stressful. Plus Vanessa hanging off my back every second of every day, plus schoolwork, makes me kind of overwhelmed. Vanessa won't leave me alone, and it's like whenever I find a moment of peace and quiet, something happens; like she couldn't find these shoes in the right size. Or she's gaining weight. Or she needs my math notes. It –" he stopped mid-sentence with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I – I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm sorry. She's not that annoying. Um, why don't you talk?"</p><p>I was nodding along with him, listening intently, but froze when he stopped. "Oh, um, no, it's okay. I like listening."</p><p>He chuckled, looking down. "You're good at it." I smiled. "But tell me about you."</p><p>I took a breath. I was afraid this would happen. I'm not very talkative. "Well...I'm captain of the swim team."</p><p>"Right! That's so cool! I was going to join swim team, but, um, Vanessa's on it. But I still want to do it." I laughed at his comment on Vanessa.</p><p>"You should join! I mean, I bet you'd be really good. You have those muscled arms and a really good form – " I gasped, realizing what I just said. Blood immediately rushed to my face and I covered it with my hands as Eric laughed at my embarrassment.</p><p>"Thanks," he said light heartedly.</p><p>I took my hands away and looked at him sheepishly. "You're welcome," I murmured, still internally groaning.</p><p>By then we had reached the diner, and we sat at a small two-person table. The place was crowded on Friday nights, so it was hard to hear each other. An old, grumpy woman with blonde hair and blue eye shadow walked over to our table. "Good evening, my name is Mata and I will be your server today. What can I get you?"<br/>"I'll have a chocolate milkshake please," Eric told her with a smile.</p><p>Mata glanced between us. "Would you like two straws?"</p><p>My eyes widened as I blushed once more. If I blushed one more time, I would permanently look like a tomato. Eric laughed and looked at me with a sparkle in his eye. "Why not?" My stomach flipped as he smiled at me. Dear Lord, help me.</p><p>Eric continued his order, and then I placed mine. The waitress left and we began even more small talk. By the time we got our food, I had been blabbing about my favorite books, the Huger Games series. Mata placed the milkshake between us, the cheeseburger going in front of Eric and the chili going to me. I stared at the drink, the two straws glaring down at me.</p><p>Eric took a sip. "You can have some, if you'd like."</p><p>My eyes snapped up to his and I gave a nervous, half-hearted smile. I shook my head. "It's okay, I'm fine." He smiled and nodded, digging in to his food.</p><p>I looked down at my bowl of chili, my stomach still filled with too many butterflies to eat.</p><p>Through the silence, I blurted out the only topic I could think of. "So, how are things with Vanessa?"</p><p>Eric paused, a French fry halfway to his mouth. He looked away from me. "She's – we're fine. Good, I guess." He continued eating his mood visibly changed.</p><p>I glanced down at my twiddling fingers. "Do you like her?" I said softly, timidly.</p><p>Eric looked up again, this time putting down his French fry. The light-hearted air was gone. "What?"<br/>I looked him in the eye this time, taking a breath. "Do you like her?" I repeated more clearly, challenging him. I knew he didn't. He couldn't. No one so wonderful as him could ever find good in someone so evil as Vanessa.</p><p>He also took a breath, his blue eyes hardening, which surprised me. The twinkle was gone. "Yes, I do like her, Ariel. She's my girlfriend," he said firmly.</p><p>My lips parted in surprise as I furrowed my brows. "You do? I thought it was all just...an act. I thought she was forcing you into it."</p><p>Eric balled up his napkin and threw it on the table. "Why can't people understand that I wasn't forced into anything? Do you really think I would let her do that to me? I like Vanessa, okay?" He stood up and slapped some money on the table, and then stomped out of the diner.</p><p>My eyes were still wide with shock. They began filling up with tears, blurring my vision as I numbly stood up, abandoning my chili. My gaze caught on the milkshake. With two straws. I grabbed them and chucked them to the floor. Then I began trying to fish money from my purse – until I realized Eric had paid for both of us. A pang hitting my heart, I still took out enough cash for my bill and placed it on top of his, and then I walked out of the restaurant, the students' eyes following me.</p><p>The moment I stepped into the cool air, tears began to roll down my cheeks. I began my walk home, all alone, in the dark, crying. The world around me had disappeared. All that was left was my aching chest and the sobs racking my body. I didn't even notice the noises around me – or the people.</p><p>Suddenly, I felt someone grab my bag. My heart stopped. I was being mugged! "Stop! Please, no!" I cried, trying to yank my bag from the attacker's hands. I pulled with all of my might, my vision still blurry from the tears that were still steadily streaming down my face. The mugger gave one last pull and I let go, the force pushing me to land on my butt on the concrete. "Please," I whimpered, covering my eyes with my palms.</p><p>Then, suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm roughly. I screamed until another wrapped around my mouth. My eyes widened, and I hurriedly bit down on the hand, causing the person to grunt but stand their ground. I struggled, kicking and wriggling as they hauled me up. A blindfold was put over my eyes and I was led somewhere far away. Eventually, my energy faltered, and I stopped fighting. My body went limp, and I had given up.</p><p>I heard a door open, and I was forcefully pushed inside the room, my limbs hitting the tiled, cool floor. Lights snapped on, which I could see through my blindfold, and I groaned, every inch of my body aching.</p><p>Someone slipped off the blindfold.</p><p>In front of me stood Vanessa, flanked by Drizella and Adam, all glaring at me with menacing eyes. I gasped, tried to scoot my body as far away from them as possible until my back hit a tile wall. I looked around. I was in a bathroom, the school one probably. Harsh lights bit at my eyes as I squinted at the three people in front of me, fighting the urge to spit at them.</p><p>"What...?" I said weakly, looking up at them with helpless eyes. Vanessa smirked.</p><p>"Hello, Ariel," she jeered, taking slow, measured steps toward me, her black heels clicking against the ground.</p><p>"What are you doing to me?" I asked loudly, struggling against the binds that had been put around my hands. "Why?"<br/>Adam advanced forward when I began to move, but Vanessa held her hand out. "She won't be able to do anything, Beast. She's weak – just the way I wanted."</p><p>I snarled.</p><p>"It seems that you have been spending some time with my boyfriend, hmm?" Vanessa drawled, walking back and forth in front of me. My eyes followed her.</p><p>"What do you care?" I snapped, causing her to smile and face me.</p><p>"I care because he doesn't. I care because he thinks he can talk to girls like you. He thinks he van get away with abandoning me and leaving me in the dust. Well, I will not let that happen, not over my dead body. And you. You know what you're doing. You're trying to steal him from me," she growled, leaning down.</p><p>I let out a single, mocking laugh. "Yeah, right. He made it very clear to me that he is loyal to you and that he likes you. So I don't think you're in danger of me stealing him from you. Plus, what makes you think you can control him?"</p><p>"He did, huh? Well, he put up a better show than than I thought he would," she murmured with a creepy smile, straightening up and completely ignoring my last question.</p><p>"You're disgusting," I hollered, battling against my ties aggressively and trying to lunge at her.</p><p>"Whatever you say, fish face," she sang, walking back to her cronies. "Tie her up again."</p><p>My eyes widened once more. "NO! NO, SOMEONE HELP!" I screamed, kicking my legs at Adam and Drizella. Adam quickly tied a gag around my mouth, silencing me, and Drizella slipped the blindfold over my eyes, washing out my vision. I heard someone pick up my bag, which held my phone, and the lights switch off.</p><p>"Ta ta," Vanessa crooned, and three sets of footsteps walked away from me, closing the door and turning the lock.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: (this is an edit. i moves part of chapter 15 into this chapter.) Woah. Woah, things are getting interesting. Who the heck does Vanessa think she is? And what is up with Eric? Why did he get so mad when Ariel asked him a simple question about Vanessa? And Vanessa!! WHAT THE HECK?? Kidnapping? Will she get caught? What will happen to Ariel? Will she get out of that bathroom? Will her friends ever find her? very suspense.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite season?</p><p>My answer: Winter and autumn!!! Ir is fall right now and I am absolutely loving this. I love crisp cold air and wearing sweaters and lighting candles and cozying up with blankets and spoopy/holiday movies.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ANNA</p><p>As I was turning off the TV because we were getting bored, I recognized the time. It was 10:00, and Ariel had been out of rehearsal for four hours.</p><p>"What color nail polish do you want, Anna?" Punz asked from the floor.</p><p>"Um, yellow," I said distractedly. "Guys? Hasn't Ariel been out for like, a really long time?"</p><p>Rapunzel and Moana glanced up at the clock and let out soft gasps. "Yeah," Moana replied quietly, concern lacing her voice. "Do you think she's okay?"</p><p>I looked at Punz worriedly. She looked equally frightened. "I'll call her," she said, standing up and reaching for her phone. The room was silent as it rang. The blonde looked afraid as she took it away from her ear. "No answer."</p><p>I inhaled sharply. "Eric wouldn't have done anything to her though, right? He couldn't have," I insisted, pacing back and forth. Moana looked like she was in shock. I tried calling Ariel once more with my phone, but no such luck.</p><p>"Maybe she's in Eric's dorm?" I asked desperately, wringing my hands.</p><p>"But why wouldn't she answer the phone?" Moana pointed out, her breathing fearful and heavy.</p><p>"Maybe she's asleep," Punz contributed, looking like she didn't believe that for one moment.</p><p>"Let's go down and ask Lady Tremaine if she saw her walk in," I proposed, slipping on shoes. The other two nodded and hurried to do the same. We ran down the hall and to the elevators, smashing the button repeatedly. When we reached the lobby floor, we almost crashed into someone trying to get onto the elevator.</p><p>It was Eric. Without Ariel.</p><p>"Eric!" Moana cried frantically, clutching onto his shirt. "Where's Ariel?" He looked down at her in confusion, his eyebrows drawing together.</p><p>"I don't know. I left her at the diner and then went out for... a walk."</p><p>Punzie gasped. "Alone? You left her to walk home, late at night, alone?"</p><p>He shifted uncomfortably. "We, uh, sort of got in an argument. We're not in a very good place right now."</p><p>I scoffed. "Yeah, well neither are we because we can't find her anywhere! She's been gone for hours, and we have no idea where she is!"</p><p>"But – " he began, looking anxious.</p><p>"Come on," I said forcefully, grabbing him by the elbow. "You're helping us look for her."</p><p>"I really don't think that's necessary, she'll probably be back any minute. Besides, we only have an hour to be inside," he protested as we marched over to Tremaine's desk. She looked like she was in a very bad mood, but then again, she always looks like that.</p><p>"Well, then you'd better stop complaining so that we can find her faster," Moana muttered under her breath as we arrived at the front desk.</p><p>"Excuse me, Lady Tremaine, but have you seen Ariel Atlantica return recently? Did she check in?" Rapunzel asked politely, smiling at her.</p><p>The woman glanced down at her sign-in sheet, not moving, and looked back at Punz. "I have not."</p><p>Moana cursed under her breath.</p><p>"Do you know where she is?" Tremaine asked. "She has to be inside at 11."</p><p>"Yeah, we know, that's why we're going to find her," I said, tightening my grip on Eric's shirt and we all made for the door.</p><p>"Be back by 11," Tremaine called sternly after us.</p><p>"We will!" Punz replied, sending a nervous glance at me. We didn't know if we would be back.</p><p>The four of us stepped outside and headed towards the cafe, the last place Eric had seen Ariel. I walked in, looking around at the empty diner. Tiana then appeared from the kitchen, taking off her apron and hanging it on a hook. "Oh, hey Anna. We're actually closing up right now, but I can whip you up something quick - "</p><p>I giggled. "You're too kind, Tia, but actually I was wondering when was the last time you saw Ariel?"</p><p>Tiana pursed her lips and picked up her purse. "Hm... She left right after the little scuffle between her and Eric. About an hour and a half ago?"</p><p>I nodded, discouraged. "Oh. Okay. Thanks. See ya!" I said, leaving the restaurant.</p><p>"She said that Ari left right after Eric did," I reported to the others sullenly.</p><p>We all turned to Eric. "What?" he cried, looking distressed. "I -- I have no more idea of where she is than you do!"</p><p>"Well, well, well," a seductive voice crooned from behind them. "Look who it is." We turned. Stalking towards us was Vanessa, Drizella, and Adam.</p><p>"What are you guys doing out here?" Rapunzel asked. Eric was looking at the ground, not meeting his girlfriend's eyes.</p><p>"Oh, just taking a little stroll, just like you," Vanessa purred, almost laughing at Eric's obvious discomfort.</p><p>"Why are you coming from the direction of the school?" Moana asked harshly, squinting at her.</p><p>Vanessa's blue eyes shifted over to the short girl as if noticing her for the first time. "Adam left his jacket there this afternoon. We just went to retrieve it, right in front of the flagpole. Is that a problem for you?" Vanessa said coldly, sneering at Moana.</p><p>Moana bristled, but Rapunzel grabbed her arm. "Do you know anything about Ariel? She's gone missing," I said, looking the predator in the eye.</p><p>"Hmmm, I can't say that I do. Maybe ask Eric here, though. I'm sure he could give you some information," she said, stalking towards him and kissing his cheek, then his jaw. He clenched his fists and gave no reaction.</p><p>Rapunzel cleared her throat. "Well, we'd better get going then. We want to get back before curfew," she said, trying to stop the PDA (if you could even call it affection).</p><p>Vanessa broke away, trailing a red fingernail on his broad shoulder. "Yes, of course. Good luck. You'll need it," she sang, and she and her friends walked towards the dorms in the dark.</p><p>"If she did anything to Ariel, I swear..." Moana muttered, glaring daggers at Vanessa's back. I almost smiled. After Moana's confession of her crush, everything made sense now.</p><p>"Should we go to the school?" I suggested. Moana and Punzie nodded. "What about you, Eric?"</p><p>"Like she said, they were just getting Adam's jacket! I think we should just go back," he said, looking angry. Moana eyed him but we wasted no time in jogging to the school.</p><p>"It's got to be Vanessa," I whispered as we neared the locked gate.</p><p>"Oh yeah? Then how would she had gotten inside the school? All entrances are closed," Eric said, crossing his arms.</p><p>"Oh, she would've found a way," Rapunzel said knowingly. Then she jumped on the fence.</p><p>"Wha- what are you doing?" Eric asked in confusion, gaping at the girl climbing up the fence in slippers and pajamas.</p><p>"We've got to get inside somehow!" she replied. "I'll open the doors from the inside!"</p><p>The three of us stood there until the front doors opened, and Rapunzel ushered us inside. It was eerie to be in there; the normally crowded and loud hallways were now dark and empty, and every step we took echoed off the tiles.</p><p>"Okay. So how 'bout we split up. She'll probably be inside, since there's no place to hide her outside. Moana, take the B building, Eric take the C building, Punzie take A, and I'll check all the lockers and bathrooms. Deal?" I said, looking at them for confirmation. They all replied with deal, but Eric seemed a little more hesitant. I didn't know what was up with him.</p><p>We split into our designated areas. I knocked on every locker and bathroom door I could find before moving upstairs. Suddenly, I heard an odd rolling noise and whistling and footsteps. "Crap!" I whispered, looking around for a place to hide. But I was too late. The large shadowy figure turned the corner when it spotted me. A flashlight turned on, shooting right into my eyes as I yelped and shielded them.</p><p>"Anna?" a familiar voice asked, and I squinted through the light. <br/>"Pacha!" I cried, running to give the man a hug. Pacha was the school janitor, friendly and kind of like a caretaker to everybody. "Boy, am I glad to see you."<br/>"Why? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.</p><p>"My best friend is missing. We think someone took her and hid her here," I explained. "Please don't turn us in. We're almost done looking."</p><p>"What? That's impossible, I've been here all night," Pacha told me.</p><p>"Well, where were you say....an hour ago?" I inquired, guessing the time when Vanessa would've arrived.</p><p>He thought for a moment. "The football field."</p><p>"Well, that explains it. Wow, that girl is good," I said under my breath, almost admiring Vanessa at her thorough-ness.</p><p>"What is going on here?" Pacha asked again, looking flustered.</p><p>I sighed and looked at him. "We think our enemy kidnapped our friend and hid her somewhere in this school. We need your help to find her. You have keys, right?"</p><p>Pacha nodded, looking concerned. "Great. Let's check all the rooms on this floor, and the bathrooms and lockers," I said.</p><p>Pacha nodded and we set off on opposite sides of the hall. I knocked on all the classroom, bathroom, and locker doors. "Ariel? Ariel, are you in here?" I called. I guess we were counting on her making a noise to alert us, but what if she was unconscious? What if she was...</p><p>"Anna!" Pacha yelled from the other end of the hall. "I think she's in here!"</p><p>I jumped and sprinted towards him, landing outside the girls' bathroom. A muffled sob came from inside. "That's her!" I said frantically as Pacha fiddled for the key. "Ariel! We found you! Don't worry, we're getting you out!"</p><p>I called the other three on the phone, and soon all of them were here, out of breath, just as Pacha had unlocked the door. Moana dove inside.</p><p>Ariel's red converse were sticking out of the last stall. All of us ran towards her. She was slouching against a toilet, her wrists bound and a gag and blindfold over her mouth and eyes. The blindfold was wet with tears. Moana quickly pulled them off as Rapunzel untied her hands. Ariel collapsed into Moana's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Moana pet her hair, whispering, "Sh, sh, sh. It'll be all right. You're okay."<br/>"What happened, Ariel?" I said softly, getting down on my knees to hug her also.</p><p>"V-Vanessa," she choked out into Moana's shoulder. "She- she jumped me and then t-took me here. She threat-threatened me for hanging out with Eric."</p><p>Rapunzel glared up at Eric, who looked ashamed. "It's okay, it's okay now," I said, rubbing her back. "We're going to tell Principal Mickey --"</p><p>"You can't do that," Eric interrupted. <br/>"Why not?" I asked, scowling at him. How dare he?</p><p>"If you did, the most that would happen is Vanessa gets suspended. She wouldn't get expelled, her mother wouldn't allow that. When she got back, she'd make all of your lives even worse. If you don't tell, she won't do as bad," he explained, still not looking at Ariel, whose sobs had subsided a bit.</p><p>There was a pause. "He's right," Ariel finally said quietly, wiping her nose. "It will only get worse if we tell."</p><p>"But you can't just let her walk free!" Moana protested.</p><p>"I can keep an eye on her. I'll warn the other faculty as well," Pacha chimed in, looking sadly at Ariel.</p><p>"Thank you," Ariel said. "And I just won't go anywhere alone again."</p><p>We all looked at each other. "Well, I don't like it, but if that's what you want to do, Ariel --" Moana said.</p><p>"I do."</p><p>"Okay. Let's get you home then."</p><p>We lifted her up, and Eric handed me his jacket to drape over her shoulders. "It's 11:02," Rapunzel said, looking at her watch. "We're past curfew."</p><p>Moana cursed.</p><p>"It's okay. I'm going to walk you guys home, I'll excuse you," Pacha reassured us.</p><p>I smiled at him. "Thank you."</p><p>We walked home in silence. When we entered the dorm building, Lady Tremaine looked up with a sneer. "Well, well, look who decided to return."</p><p>"It's all right, Mrs. Tremaine. I had them. We had an emergency to attend to, so they're excused," Pacha said.</p><p>Tremaine's eyes wandered over us. "Very well," she said through gritted teeth. "Go up to your rooms."</p><p>We thanked and bid goodbye to Pacha as we headed up the elevator. On the second floor, Eric's stop, both he and I got off. "I'll catch you guys in a second," I said to the girls. Eric looked awkward and a little scared as the doors closed and the elevator left us alone.</p><p>I turned to him. He rubbed the back of his neck. "WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT?" I exploded, causing him to flinch. "YOU FIGHT WITH ARIEL AND THEN LEAVE HER TO WALK HOME ALONE. OH, GUESS WHAT? SHE GETS KIDNAPPED! THEN WE ASK YOU TO HELP US FIND HER, AND YOU SAY YOU DON'T WANT TO? YOU ACT LIKE A WHINY BABY THE ENTIRE TIME, GIVE US NO INFORMATION OR HELP, AND DON'T TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HAPPENED! AND THEN YOU SAY WE SHOULDN'T PUNISH VANESSA? WHAT KIND OF EVIL INSECT ARE YOU? I CAN'T BELIEVE ARIEL LIKES YOU!" I screamed, kicking his shins. Then, not wanting to awkwardly wait for an elevator, I snapped the door to the stairs open and ran up the two flights of stairs in anger.</p><p>I stomped to my room and opened it. Ariel was crying again, wrapped in blankets and eating the melted ice cream from our party a few hours ago. That felt like days before.</p><p>"You okay, Ari?" I asked softly. She nodded. "I just yelled at Eric for you."</p><p>Her eyes widened and she swallowed the ice cream. "Why?"</p><p>"He was being a little grump. Plus, he basically caused all this. If he hadn't gotten in a fight with you, he wouldn't have left you alone."</p><p>Ariel was silent. We stayed with her the rest of the night until she fell into a light sleep.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p>After Anna blew up at me, I sighed and waited about five minutes before I knew she would be in her room. I went back to the elevators and pressed the button, getting on and pressing the button for level 3.</p><p>I got out and went to room 387. Vanessa's room. I knocked. The door opened. "Hey, stranger," Vanessa hummed, pushing my chest backward and closing the door behind her as we became alone in the empty hall. She suddenly attacked my face with wet kisses, and I tried not to make a face as I pushed her away. <br/>"Stop. Look. I did what you told me to do. I got in a fight with her and I left her. You did what you wanted to do, okay? Now can you please send it?" I said firmly, holding her shoulders so that she couldn't touch me again.</p><p>"Hmm... I don't know. You did help her friends find her..." she said, smiling.</p><p>"I tried not to! They forced me! I tried to lead them away from the school! I even told them not to report you, okay?" I yelled, my face turning red.</p><p>Vanessa thought for a bit. "All right. I guess I'll send the money. But your job's not done yet, you're still my boyfriend."</p><p>I dropped my hands, and muttered, "Unfortunately."</p><p>"Watch it, buster," she growled, suddenly eye to eye with me. "I could take that money away from you so fast. I could even kill her if I wanted. We're in a deal, are we not?" I looked down. "Are. We. Not?" she asked again through her teeth, her nails digging into my shoulders. I hadn't even realized she was hugging me.</p><p>"We are," I said quietly, not meeting her eyes.</p><p>"Good," she said with a smile, easing her fingers. She then pressed a long, germy kiss to my lips, to which I did not respond. Her hands began to make their way underneath my shirt, but I pushed them away and released myself.</p><p>"We're in a relationship publicly, not privately, all right? I want nothing to do with you when we're alone. Good night," I snarled, stalking off to my dorm.</p><p>Ariel. I felt awful. I kept picturing her, sobbing on the floor of the bathroom. Because of me. Was what I'm doing really worth it? Anna's scolding rang out in my ears. "I can't believe Ariel likes you!" What did that mean? </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello, hello, hello, friends! I'm back! Sorry this took so long, I've been working on a lot of stuff and honestly, October was the busiest month ever. Also, there have been about 4 wildfires and a mass shooting in my area. My entire family plus my best friend's cats evacuated to my house, and then we almost had to evacuate from here, so it's been chaotic. I'm so happy we're safe and that me and my loved one's and their houses are all right. My heart goes out to everyone who has had their lives turned around and we are going to do everything we can to help them. </p><p>Anyway. On a lighter(ish) note. How'd you like this chapter? Finally an answer to the cliffhanger? Ariel was saved, but Vanessa won't even get punished? And what's going on with Eric? Was he part of this kidnapping plan? What is this agreement going on between Vanessa and Eric? Did Anna accidentally slip up about Ariel's crush? </p><p>Question of the Chapter: What were you for Halloween and what did you do?</p><p>My answer: On Oct. 30, me and my dance friends went to ballet class dressed as 80s dance instructors. It was awesome. Then on Halloween, I was Rosie the Riveter the whole day. I went over to my family friends' house and we ate a lot of food, then we took our regular walk around the block and me and my best friend just took candy from the bowls. It was amazing. I frickin love Halloween.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MOANA</p><p>The next morning, Rapunzel and I had to get up early to hop a bus to San Diego. I had barely thought about the dance competition the whole night -- we'd been a little preoccupied.</p><p>Too soon for comfort, Rapunzel's alarm went off at five am. "Turn it off," Anna groaned, turning in her bed. Ariel remained fast asleep, exhausted from last night's ordeal. Rapunzel hurriedly stopped the noise and hopped out of bed. I did too, nerves already churning in my stomach.</p><p>I quickly changed into my bus outfit: black leggings, Uggs, a rust turtleneck, and a cream drape thing to put over my shoulders. I grabbed my suitcase and my garment bag that held my costumes, and then went to brush my teeth and wash my face. In record time, Rapunzel and I were out the door, quietly heading down to the lobby.</p><p>On the way through the hall, we saw Iridessa trying desperately to be silent as she struggled to close the door over all her suitcases. "Hey, Des!" we called, startling her.</p><p>"Oh, hey guys," she said, finally closing the door and locking it.</p><p>"You know, we're only going for a night," Rapunzel said lightly, giggling at the amount of packing the girl did.</p><p>"Yeah... I just get really anxious if I don't have everything I think I need," she said, chuckling. I smiled. Iridessa was a very anxious person, it was going to be interesting to see how she dealt with dancing on stage.</p><p>We arrived in the lobby with Vanessa, Esme, Tiger, Nala, Adella, Marian, Kida, Charlotte, Eilwony, Anastasia, and Ms. T waiting. Milo our team coordinator was there too, with a clipboard and checking people's names off. "All right, that's everybody!" he said happily as the three of us approached.</p><p>"Fab! Is everyone ready? Got your costumes?" Ms. T asked, and we all nodded. "Let's go!"</p><p>We filed out, getting our luggage put in the storage part of the bus. We walked on. It was pretty fancy; the seats looked comfortable, there were TVs on the back of each one, and there was cool lighting down the aisle. Punz and I immediately got seats together, and I settled in, placing a pillow on the window to rest against. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When I woke up, everyone was standing and moving to get off the bus. "Are we here already?" I asked tiredly, rubbing my eyes.</p><p>Rapunzel laughed. "Yep. You slept the whole time. Welcome to San Diego!"</p><p>As we walked off the bus, Rapunzel leaned in to whisper to me. "You missed it — Vanessa has been hitting on Milo this entire time."</p><p>"What?" I softly shrieked in surprise. "Is she serious? She made it very clear last night that she 'belonged' to Eric."</p><p>"I know, right? It's really gross." We gathered our stuff and walked across the parking lot to the entrance of the hotel.</p><p>"All right, girls — and Milo," Ms. T announced as we gathered around her. "I'm sorry to say this, but we have room assignments. Adella, Tiger, Kida are together. Eilwony, Charlotte, Marian room together. Anastasia, Iridessa, Nala are in another. And finally Vanessa, Punzie, Moana. That leaves Esmeralda and Milo together. All right everyone? Now go to your rooms and get ready to leave for the stage."</p><p>Rapunzel and I gasped loudly. We were with Vanessa! "This cannot be happening," I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Ms. T! There is no way that we are rooming with Vanessa. We have some, um, really bad situations with her from recently. Can we please switch with someone?"</p><p>She made a face of regret as she passed out room cards. "Sorry girls. Unless you can find someone who wants to trade, which will be extremely hard, you're stuck."</p><p>"I can't believe this!" I shouted, as Punzie took our room cards and we walked into an elevator.</p><p>"Moana, maybe you should just calm down—" she began timidly as the elevator doors closed.</p><p>"She kidnapped my best friend! She knows that we know it was her, and she is going to rub it all in our faces. She is literally the devil, Punz. And now we're sharing a hotel room with her."</p><p>"I know. Just...it's going to be all right, okay? Might as well try to get someone to trade with Vanessa, right?"</p><p>I nodded silently, and we got off on our floor. Everyone was already in their rooms, so we began knocking. "Hey, Nala, would any of you be willing to trade with Vanessa for tonight?"</p><p>Nala looked at us as if we were crazy. "No way! We have Anastasia already."</p><p>"Then if you or Iridessa come to ours, then Vanessa and Anastasia can be together!" I pointed out optimistically.</p><p>"Iridessa and I are not going to be alone with Anastasia and Vanessa. Sorry, Moana."</p><p>We moved on and asked Tiger and Marian and Milo, all who refused to trade with Vanessa.</p><p>"Well, it's just one night," Rapunzel said as we shuffled to our doomed room with our bags. I unlocked the door and we walked in. The room was already destroyed. Clothes were strewn about the room, on both beds. I took a peek inside the bathroom, and it was already trashed with makeup.</p><p>"Hello, darlings. I was wondering where you went," Vanessa said evilly, smirking at us.</p><p>"Vanessa!" Rapunzel exclaimed in surprise, looking at the room with wide eyes. "How did you do all this?"</p><p>She shrugged. "I needed to find an outfit to wear on the way to the stage."<br/>I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long trip. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Soon, the entire team was down in the hotel lobby again, carrying our costumes and our bags for our makeup and supplies. We had all scraped our hair into low buns, because our contemporary number was first. "Ready everyone?" Ms. T called out.</p><p>"Yes!" we shouted back, and we filed back out to the bus, carrying our full garment bags and makeup bags.</p><p>The whole ride to the stage, I was jittery. My stomach was churning, and I realized I hadn't eaten much today. Rapunzel gave me an apple, but it didn't stop my shaking hands.</p><p>We finally arrived and piled into the artists' entrance, and were directed to our dressing room. Vanessa immediately set all of her stuff in front of two mirrors, spilling her numerous fancy makeup products into Iridessa's space.</p><p>We began to pull out our makeup, and I decided to slip into my costume before because I didn't want to mess up makeup by pulling off my shirt. I unzipped my garment bag and took out the contemporary costume. It was burgundy, matching everyone else's. There was a top part, which had a nice neckline design, and then the bottom was a skirt at the back, opening to reveal our shorts in the front part. It was very pretty, and when we danced in it, the skirt flowed so nicely and made you feel like you were floating.</p><p>After getting that on and putting warm ups over it, I began to do my burgundy themed makeup, complete with a wine-colored lip. The dressing room was loud and chaotic, and before we knew it, a stage director knocked on the door. "15 minute call for 'Missed' by Disney High!" he yelled.</p><p>All of us cried out in distress, and the chaos intensified. People were scrambling for extra makeup, hairspray, and their shoes and costumes.</p><p>Then Ms. T had to herd us out into the wings, where Dreamworks Academy was dancing on stage. They were really, really good. They had a lot of tricks, and the main girl did a section where she did about a million turns. Nerves jumped in my stomach, and Esmeralda turned to face us.</p><p>"All right, girls. We have totally got this. We have worked so hard, and I know that whatever happens, we will be great, okay? Even if you mess up, it's okay. Do your best, and I will be happy. All right?" she said, putting her hand in. We all placed our hands over hers, chanting "One, two, three, Disney High!" and were shushed by backstage crew members.</p><p>Dreamworks finished beautifully and the crowd went wild. The girls walked off stage, right into our wing. "Good luck, Disney," the main girl, a redhead sneered. "You're gonna need it."</p><p>I scowled, and Rapunzel put a hand on my shoulder. "That's Fiona. She's a... never mind. Just don't let her shake you."</p><p>I nodded, and we waited in a bundle of nerves until the announcer called our names. "Walt E. Disney High, performing Missed." I felt us all take a deep, collective breath and then we ran onstage, getting into our positions. My heart thumped in my chest, and then the music started. We danced through the song, going through the movements that we knew by heart. I felt that the audience wasn't even there; it was just me and the music.</p><p>For the very end, we all gathered around Rapunzel and lifted her up, and on the final lyric "goodbye," she fell back into our arms, reaching to the audience as the lights faded. Breathless and filled with joy, we ran off the stage as the audience exploded in cheers.</p><p>We shouted as well all the way back to the dressing room, where we hugged and high fived. The smile couldn't leave my face, and I took out my hair and removed my makeup to start from scratch for our jazz dance.</p><p>"All right, as much as I would love to keep celebrating," Esme called, still beaming, "we have about 45 minutes to be backstage for 'Another Day of Sun.'"</p><p>"I love you girls!" Ms. T yelled, and we all laughed and continued our makeup.</p><p>"Well, I think that went terribly," Vanessa said snootily, applying eyeshadow.</p><p>"What are you talking about? We did great! Especially that turn section, no one was off at all," Nala retaliated, giving Vanessa a look of disbelief.</p><p>"There were a couple girls in Dreamworks who were off, so that'll definitely give us an advantage," Tiger added, brushing her hair.</p><p>"Well I thought we were all really off on timing and spacing. We need to get it together for the next dance, especially since it's already a mess" she replied, not looking at Nala and making a kissy face at herself in the mirror. Nala gasped at the insult, for she had choreographed our jazz dance.</p><p>I felt the entire room roll their eyes, including Lottie and Anastasia. Nala made an obscene gesture at Vanessa, but she didn't notice because she was too busy feeling herself up in the mirror.</p><p>Nobody spoke except for a few sniggers, and we finished getting ready in near silence. I put on more natural makeup and some red lipstick, then pulled my curly hair into a tight high ponytail. I pulled on my casual red dress -- we were doing a dance from the La La Land movie and were going for a casual, comfortable look for the costumes like in the film.</p><p>Rapunzel was wearing a purple dress, and looked extremely excited for this dance. Since she was the smallest, she often had big sections in the dances involving tricks and lifts. I also had a small solo in this dance, right in the beginning. I was beginning to become terrified, the high from the last dance wearing off.</p><p>"We have 5 minutes until the jazz show starts, and then you have about 15 minutes until you're on," Milo told us, listening to his headset.</p><p>Soon, we were backstage again, jumping up and down to keep warm. Esmeralda, in a green dress, gave us another pep talk. Dreamworks, which was before us again, had an okay dance, but in the middle a girl with pink hair fell, causing everyone to gasp. They gave no dirty remarks to us as they walked off stage.</p><p>"Walt E. Disney High, performing Another Day of Sun." My teammates ran onstage again, and I could barely feel my legs because of nerves as I stood in my place in one of the wings. The first piano notes began, and my legs forced me onstage, passing and smiling at my classmates in their various poses. I began my small dancing solo part, smiling widely and making sure my toes were pointed, my shoulders back, my knees straight, my movements sharp, and my face expressive. Soon enough, I joined everyone else in the group section, which was my favorite part, and I felt another rush of adrenaline.</p><p>"It's another day of sun!" the chorus shouted at the end, and I finished in my pose of the middle splits with Rapunzel being held above me. The crowd again went wild, and we cheered as we ran off stage again. I felt like I was going to throw up, but my smile never left my face as I was smothered in hugs.</p><p>After the rush, we were transported back to the hotel to get ready for the awards and the celebratory dinner afterward. I was wearing a nice white top and classy black pants, along with a purse and black shoes to go with it. I redid my makeup and hair, but Rapunzel and I had to do it in front of the full length mirror in the room instead of the bathroom, because Vanessa hogged it the entire time.</p><p>Everyone was ready to go, looking fancy and cleaned up, as well as nervous for the awards. Milo had even dressed in a suit. We were bussed over to the stage again and this time took seats on the stage in our registered area. Ms. T, looking lovely in a drapey, toga-like white dress was looking around anxiously, talking quietly with Esmeralda and Milo. I knew she was nervous. I was too.</p><p>Soon, all the seats on the stage and in the audience were filled up, and the competition director walked on. They went through the duos and solos, and finally she said, "And now for the group dance awards. In third for contemporary, we have Fox Institute." We clapped politely as the small group of girls and one guy went up to receive their trophy.</p><p>"For second place..." we held our breath. "Walt E. Disney High!" We all gasped, and then cheered. Ms. T, in shock, was pushed to the front of the stage by a beaming Esmeralda. We all followed her, but Vanessa pushed to the front to take the trophy.</p><p>Vanessa beamed and blew kisses to the audience. Esmeralda took it from her and held it up, causing me to smile and laugh and continue celebrating.</p><p>We all went back to our seats, still giggling about our win and Vanessa's humiliation. "And for first place in the contemporary group section, we have Dreamworks Academy!" The group stood up and screamed, running up to grab the trophy and causing all of us to slouch down and roll our eyes. Fiona, whom I assumed was the captain, winked and blew a kiss at us. I stuck my tongue out at her, and Nala did the same thing, causing us to laugh.</p><p>"For third place in the jazz group dance category, we have Dreamworks Academy!" the lady said, and the girls had to get up again. They put forced smiles onto their faces, and you could tell they were mad at their ranking. I smirked. "In second place, Illumination Academy!"</p><p>"And in first place for the jazz group dances, Walt E. Disney High!" I screamed, and turned to hug Rapunzel and Milo, who looked shaken up. We sprinted to the front of the stage to receive the large trophy, and gave it to Ms. T and Nala, who helped choreograph it. We kept the prize well away from Vanessa. I blew a kiss at the angry Dreamworks girls, revelling in the satisfaction of Fiona sadly flipping her hair.</p><p>The rest of the awards passed by in a blur, since we didn't compete in any other category, but on the way back to the bus we were chanting and talking about what had happened. Vanessa was sulking in the back with Anastasia trying to console her. We went to the dinner hall, which was very fancy. That also passed by quickly. We laughed, talked, about who knows what, until we returned to the hotel at about midnight.</p><p>"That was incredible," Rapunzel sighed as she walked to her stuff, taking out her earrings.</p><p>"Agreed. Two eventful nights in a row, but I have to say, this one is so much nicer," I said, eyeing Vanessa who was still pouting. "I hope Ariel's doing okay."</p><p>"Are you like, in love with Ariel or something?" she snapped, her eyes glaring daggers into mine.</p><p>I froze. I could feel Rapunzel tense up next to me. "W-what? No. Why would you say that?" I stammered, trying to get myself to breath and praying Vanessa couldn't see my flush.</p><p>"You care about her so much, it's like you're her boyfriend," Vanessa scoffed.</p><p>Rapunzel stepped in bravely, her green eyes piercing Vanessa until she cowered. "She cares about Ariel because she's a good friend, not that you would know what that's like."</p><p>Vanessa laughed and stalked into the bathroom after sending a bitter, sarcastic kiss to us.</p><p>I released my breath. "Thanks," I said to Rapunzel. She just nodded. We took off our makeup and dresses and slipped into our shared bed. Vanessa was silent the entire time, although she did go into the bathroom for quite a while, blasting loud music so that we couldn't hear what was happening. She came out looking sick and tired, but I didn't think much of it. She just didn't have any makeup on, and I was so used to seeing her all glammed up. I resisted commenting on it. I pulled out my phone.</p><p>WE WON FIRST AND SECOND PLACE!!!! I texted Ariel, and she responded quickly.</p><p>Yayy!!!! Congrats!</p><p>I smiled and fell into a deep sleep. </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL</p><p>The next morning, Moana and I were woken up rudely by a loud blow dryer. "Well, good morning," I said to her, stretching.</p><p>"Ugh," was all she said, flipping over and accidentally bringing the comforter with her.</p><p>"Hey!" I cried, laughing. I hopped out of bed and went over to get out my outfit for the ride home today. After Vanessa finally exited the bathroom, her hair and makeup perfect, I slipped in to take a shower, waiting to wash my hair until we returned to the dorm. It took a whole day.</p><p>Moana entered and we did our hair and makeup together, before gathering our things in the hotel room and throwing them into our suitcases. Vanessa was gone, which was fine by us.</p><p>We went into the hall, where we met Tiger, Adella, and Kida and all walked down to the lobby. Ms. T began checking us out of the hotel, and soon everyone was ready except for Esmeralda and Milo, who hadn't come down yet. We waited for a while, until the two of them ran out of the elevator, looking disheveled.</p><p>"Sorry, we got...distracted," Milo said, pushing up his glasses as Esmeralda winked at him and went to check out. We all snickered, except Vanessa and Kida.</p><p>We finally piled onto the buses, and took a peaceful ride back home. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello, pals! How are you doing? I finally updated! As you know from the last AN, things have been absolutely crazy around here, but everyone is safe. I know of a few people who had houses lost, but no one personally. My heart goes out to them, and I am so thankful that all of my loved ones are okay.</p><p>Anyway! So, Ariel has returned only for Punz and Moana to leave the next day. But Disney High won!! Is Vanessa on to Moana's little crush? What will she do about it? What happened between Milo and Esmeralda? what is going on with Mulan? Remember her and her cracked rib and concussion? it's crazy to think that that happened the same night of Ariel's fiasco, a mere few chapters ago. Don't worry, I almost forgot about Mulan too, but all will be revealed in the next chapter, which will probably be published tomorrow! Yay!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What do you want for Christmas (if you celebrate)?</p><p>My Answer: I asked for a record player, journaling supplies, some clothes, etc. It doesn't feel like Christmas is a week away, right?</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MULAN</p><p>The two mornings after the accident, I woke up abruptly in the hospital when a needle was taken out of my hand. "Ow!" I croaked, flinching.</p><p>"Sorry, ma'am. Just taking out your IV," a nurse said, looking at me apologetically.</p><p>"Do I get to go home today?" I asked excitedly, sitting up but flinching at the pain still in my ribs.</p><p>"Yes, ma'am. Your principal is arriving soon to sign the release papers."</p><p>"Great!"</p><p>Until 3, doctors were taking my temperature, blood pressure, eyesight, hydration level until my head was spinning (that could just be from the concussion, though). One very attractive nurse had even put a compression bandage around my chest for the ride home.</p><p>Finally, Principal Mickey and our Dean, Mrs. Queen, arrived along with Merida, Pocahontas, Kida, and Giselle. "Oh, you look better already!" Giselle told me optimistically, handing me a cup of iced coffee as Mickey conversed with my doctor. I smiled and blushed, while Kida rolled their eyes and they all helped me get into a wheelchair.</p><p>We got into a large van, so tall that I didn't have to bend down so that my ribs wouldn't hurt. There was a barrier in between the front seats and back, so I felt comfortable talking to my friends without Mickey or Mrs. Queen hearing.</p><p>"So, did I miss anything while I was gone?" I asked, laughing. Nothing big could've possibly happened in two nights.</p><p>The four of my friends shared a look. "Ariel got kidnapped," Merida said bluntly.</p><p>"What?" I screeched, causing me to cough and pain to shoot through my ribs. "Ow." Giselle quickly handed me a water bottle. "She got kidnapped?"</p><p>Pocahontas nodded.</p><p>"Two nights ago, people say she was locked in a dorm room, I think. Nobody knows who it is, and she won't talk about it. Not even Mickey knows about it," Kida said quietly.</p><p>"This is crazy. Of course, the night I'm in the hospital, something like this happens. Is she okay?" I asked, shaking my head.</p><p>"Yes! I saw her in the Black Cauldron this morning when I was getting your coffee!" Giselle piped up quickly, smiling widely.</p><p>Kida rolled their eyes again. I didn't know what was up with them.</p><p>"Gaston has been suspended for two weeks, and has a restraining order on you. Everyone is supposed to make sure that he stays far away from you. And he was kicked off the football team, replaced by Jim. I think Kocoum is taking your place," Pocahontas told me, and I sighed in relief, closing my eyes.</p><p>"Thank God," I said, smiling. "Thanks. I would've been so mad if nothing was done about Gaston."</p><p>We arrived at the dorm building, and there was a small clump of people waiting. It included Hercules, Tiana, Meg, Tiger, Nani, Vidia, Esme, Judy, Jasmine, Nala, Snow, Tarzan, Simba, and of course, Shang. I was helped out of the vehicle and I hobbled over to Shang, who engulfed me in a tight hug while trying not to hurt me. "I'm glad you're okay," he murmured in my ear, and I smiled, a warm light filling my chest.</p><p>"Thanks," I said as we broke apart. I was surrounded by people asking me questions, offering to help me, telling me what had happened. I began to get overwhelmed, my breath getting shallower as my pain made it harder to breathe. My head was throbbing, and the people's faces were starting to get blurry.</p><p>"GIVE HER SOME SPACE, LADS!" Merida roared, running around me and warding people off. They immediately backed up, ceasing the noise.</p><p>"Thanks, Merida," I gasped, squeezing my eyes to clear away the spots. I regained my balance and my breath, and then Kida and Giselle began to help me inside while Pocahontas grabbed my things and Merida continued being my bodyguard.</p><p>We slowly but surely made it up to my room, and I sat gingerly on my bed with a sigh of relief, finally feeling relaxed. "Thank you guys for helping me," I said, looking at the four of them.</p><p>"Of course! Do you want to get some food?" Giselle suggested cheerily. I blushed and almost stopped breathing. Was she asking me on a date? Right now?</p><p>"She's really tired, Giselle, she just needs to rest now, okay? Poca can bring her up some food. Thanks for all your help!" Kida cut in, hurriedly and aggressively ushering Giselle out of the room.</p><p>"Wait!" I called, but Kida shut the door firmly behind her. "What was that for?" I asked angrily, moving to get up to go after Giselle, but the pain and the dizziness caused me to sit back down.</p><p>"There was no way you were going out for food right now, Mulan!" Kida said exasperatedly, and Poca and Merida left to get me a burrito form the dining hall.</p><p>"You didn't have to be rude about it!" I retorted, scowling at them. "What is your deal with her?"</p><p>"What? I don't have a deal with her!" Kida replied loudly and angrily, passing me some pain pills. </p><p>"Yes, you do. This whole day you've been rolling your eyes at her or cutting her off. Why don't you like her?"</p><p>Kida groaned. "She's just annoying, all right? 'Hi, my name is Giselle, I brought you a coffee! I have a boyfriend but I'm going to lead Mulan on just for the fun of it! I talk to freaking birds, but don't worry, I'm totally sane!'" Kida yelled, imitating the high pitched voice of Giselle.</p><p>I flinched, my ears ringing. "Stop it, Kida! She's not like that! I like her, okay? So maybe if you could stop being rude about it, that would be great! She's a good friend. And right now you're not being a very good one yourself!"</p><p>Kida scowled at me. "You don't know what a good friend looks like. I don't want you to get hurt, but if you don't want my help, then fine." They stormed out of our room, leaving me alone.</p><p>I humphed, and then turned to the mirror to take off the chest bandage like the nurse told me. But before I did, I stared at myself in my tank top. The compression bandage was covering my entire chest, including my boobs and making them look entirely flat. I admired my skinny, flat frame and slowly pulled my long black hair into a bun. In my sweats and top, I looked like... a guy. "Hey," I said in a deep, gruff guy voice. I smiled. I kind of liked it. I felt oddly good and confident. I flexed in the mirror, looking at my face and body at different angles to see which looked more manly.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Pocahontas asked as she walked in the door, causing me to jump and stop smirking at this new me.</p><p>"Nothing. Just... taking off the bandage," I said, disappointedly beginning to unwrap it. I was back to my girl-self. I sighed and began to eat my burrito. Merida left, saying she had to do homework with Hiccup and Rapunzel.</p><p>"Where's Kida?" Poca asked, letting the sunlight in and misting her plants.</p><p>"Oh, we... got in an argument. It was stupid," I muttered, souring.</p><p>"About what?" she asked casually as she began unpacking my hospital bag.</p><p>"Giselle. They don't like her," I said, venting to Poca.</p><p>"Really? Why?"</p><p>"They say she's annoying." I laid back on my bed, watching as my boobs flattened out again. "But I really like her, you know? I just want Kida's support. It's not like they're homophobic, obviously."</p><p>Poca paused, in deep thought as she handed me another pillow. "Well... Giselle is dating Edward, right?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."</p><p>"It's just that they probably don't want you getting your hopes up. Kida always has been a little protective of everybody, Mulan. They still don't like John."</p><p>"Well, that's understandable," I said under my breath, thinking of Poca's boyfriend. "I just don't know what they're so scared of."</p><p>"They just don't want to be left alone. We're their closest friends, and you're the one without a partner," Poca replied, patting my head and moving to her desk. She took out her science book and said, "Just try not to let it bother you, okay Mulan? It will blow over."</p><p>I sighed and got settled into my bed when my phone rang. I looked at the ID. It was my mom! I immediately picked up.</p><p>"Hi Mama!"</p><p>"Mulan! Are you all right? We just got a call from the school! What happened? Do we need to come over?" my mom asked rapidly.</p><p>I laughed, but stopped while clutching my chest. "I'm fine, Mama. You don't need to come all the way from China." I explained what happened, except... instead of revealing that I got the injuries in football practice, I told both of my parents that I had fallen down the stairs. They didn't know about football yet. I knew they wouldn't approve, and I didn't want their first impression to be that it got me hurt.</p><p>"I'm glad you're all right, flower. Do you need anything?"</p><p>"No, thank you. Are you and Dad doing okay?"</p><p>"Oh yes. We just miss you. Can't wait for winter break!"</p><p>"Me too! Okay, Mom, I've got to catch up on schoolwork. Talk to you later?"</p><p>"All right, sweetie. Love you!"</p><p>"I love you too, Mom."</p><p>I hung up and silently prepared to take a nap, thinking about Kida, Giselle, and that compression bandage. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello friends! Long time no see haha. So, how do you feel about this little problem between Kida and Mulan? Do you think Kida is right? Is Giselle annoying? Is Mulan going to get hurt? Or is it worth trying? Also, how do you feel about this gender thing that Mulan is discovering? (also, if you have gender dysphoria or are trans/non binary/etc., and i am writing it wrong or am being offensive in any way, please PLEASE tell me. the last thing i want to do is represent you guys wrong!!! i'm trying something new and trying to be inclusive of everything. also, kid's pronouns are they/them if you were confused!) Whose POV do you want to see next?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What are you doing for the winter holidays?</p><p>My Answer: I am staying home with my family, then were taking a small trip to Joshua Tree for a day or two afterward. It's going to be very nice and chill, i'm hoping to hang out with my friends a bunch.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>VANESSA</p><p>Tuesday, October 16</p><p>"So then I took the took the trophy, and everyone cheered even louder. Because they knew that I was the one who earned it for the team, you know?"I bragged to Drizella and Marie about the past weekend, and they looked in awe. They were my loyal-est companions.</p><p>"That's, like, so amazing," Marie said, and I smirked at her, flipping my hair.</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"Nessa!" I turned around to see Eric walking towards me, a firey look in his eyes.</p><p>I looked him up and down, smiling and narrowing my eyes. "Hey, Eric," I purred.</p><p>He walked right up to me. "Can we talk?" he asked in a low voice, looking at my friends. "In private?"</p><p>I got a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach, turned on my his aggressive nature. "Of course," I murmured, trailing a nail along his chest and pulling him away, into an empty classroom. </p><p>I locked it swiftly and then turned, stalking slowly towards him. "We should get it done quickly -- I have to be in English class soon."</p><p>"What?" he said, holding out his hands and stopping me from going any further. "No, no Vanessa. That's not what I meant. I just want to talk."</p><p>I froze and dropped my hand. "Oh. Okay. Good.... Uh, I wanted to talk too."</p><p>Eric looked at me with a raised eyebrow, but he took a breath and began. "Okay.... Vanessa, where is the money?"</p><p>I paused, hardening my gaze. "Excuse me?"</p><p>"You know, the money you promised me? I did what you asked five days ago, and we haven't seen a penny of it. I even spread rumors about it, okay? Nobody knows it was you, I'll make sure of it. So please. Just send the money, Vanessa," he said, desperate and angry. I could tell that he was getting frustrated with this pleading. I had him right in the palm of my hand.</p><p>I could play this game too. Eric was sitting on top of one of the desks, and so I paced in front of him, tapping a nail to my chin. "Yes, I know you did all of that. But you haven't met one of the most important requirements: being my boyfriend. Every time I see you or say hi to you in the halls, you walk away all mad without even looking at me! It makes both me and you look like idiots, and I do not need that. So we are in a relationship, Eric. You do sweet things for me. And you'd better ask me out to the Winter Formal next month, in the most public way possible. If you actually act like my boyfriend, I will send her your precious money."</p><p>Eric glared at me with cold, blue eyes. "Fine. But she's running out of time."</p><p>I sneered, getting closer to him. "You do know that her life is in my hands? The minute you decide not to comply with my conditions, I could stop the money, and that could kill her. So you'd better make sure I'm satisfied, Eric."</p><p>He was balling his fists, then grasping the desk beneath him, probably to keep his temper in check. "I know."</p><p>He took a deep breath, hopping off the desk and grabbing my arms. He kissed my forehead, his mood completely changed. "I know. See you later, love."</p><p>I smiled. "Bye, babe." He left the dark classroom, leaving me alone to think for a few minutes. Then I finally returned to the hall, where only the Tremaines and Marie remained.</p><p>"Where's Charlotte?" I asked, snapping so that they fell in step behind me as I stalked down the hall.</p><p>"She went to talk to that nerdy loser, Jane," Drizella replied immediately.</p><p>I narrowed my eyes. "Have you been feeling that Lottie is drifting from us?" I said. Charlotte had always seemed different from us. She talked to people like Anna, Tiana, and especially Jane. All the girls behind me agreed. "Well, we're going to do something about that."</p><p> </p><p>●●●</p><p> </p><p>After school was over, I paid a visit to my mother's classroom. She was sitting in silence, grading papers and frowning. "Mother," I said as I stood in the doorway. She looked up.</p><p>"Oh, it's just you. What is it, Vanessa?" she asked dully, looking back at her work. I walked in, trying not to sigh.</p><p>"Eric needs his money." She rolled her eyes and spun her chair to face me.</p><p>"How much?"</p><p>"27,000 dollars," I told her reluctantly. She gasped.</p><p>"Vanessa, you promised him 27,000 dollars?" she said, raising her voice.</p><p>I nodded timidly. "His mother had a big surgery the other week. It removed a big portion of the tumor, and the health insurance didn't cover much of it."</p><p>Ursula groaned, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "We can't keep this up for much longer," she said to me. "Just being your boyfriend and doing your bidding doesn't seem to be enough repay."</p><p>I felt myself beginning to get anxious. "But the moment we start paying, he's not my boyfriend anymore! That'll make me look like a failure, Mother!"</p><p>"Then get a real boyfriend, Vanessa!" she exclaimed, scowling. "Obviously your looks aren't helping with that. You need to lose some weight."</p><p>I held back a sob. I hadn't eaten all day. I regained myself, taking a breath and not looking at that repulsive woman. "Will you just send the money by tonight?"</p><p>She sighed. "Fine. Leave, I have a lot to do," she said, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. I bowed my head and left quietly, not letting any tears slip from my eyes lest I ruin my makeup.</p><p> </p><p>TIANA</p><p>"Good afternoon, everyone!" I said cheerfully, setting down my bag. Today we had a student council meeting, and I was wearing a sleek black and white dress with some teal embellishments, a teal headband holding back my natural hair. I sat at the head of the table, next to Janie and Milo. Lottie, Quasi, and Cindy were there as well as Fairy Godmother and Minnie Mouse, to supervise and help document our ideas. Everyone exchanged greetings with me, smiling. "So, does anyone have anything special to report?"</p><p>"Planning for the dance is going well!" Cindy said after a while. "I just need to book the DJ and catering and decorations, but we have plenty of time."</p><p>"Good!" I said, grinning at her. "And we have a good amount of funding for it, Lottie?"</p><p>My friend suddenly sat up to attention. "Yes! We're fit as a fiddle, sugar."</p><p>I smiled. "Wonderful. Anythin' else to say?"</p><p>A few more people talked about how things were going smoothly, and then I got up my courage to suggest my new idea. I had talked about it with a few of my friends, and had done a lot of research on it and hoped that it would go well with the faculty and student council. </p><p>"All right, I'm glad that everythin' is going just fine! Thanksgiving break is coming up, and then right after that we have winter break, and then after that, spring break will be right there. And I've been thinkin'; I know that a lot of students stay in the dorms over the holidays, especially spring break because they don't have the time or the money to return home. But I've been askin' around, and I think that people could love going on a class trip over spring break! We could cancel one of the spring semester dances and use that funding, and --"</p><p>"That's not going to be enough," Milo cut in, looking worried. "The money used for one dance will not cover a class trip, especially if we go somewhere sumptuous. Where were you thinking of going, just out of curiosity?"</p><p>I blushed. "Well, I've been doin' some research, and I looked at a certain company that looked really nice, cheap, and trustworthy. One of their most popular trips is...Paris."</p><p>Lottie screamed, even though she was one of the first people I suggested this to.</p><p>"Ooh, Paris!" Cindy squealed, clapping. "That sounds wonderful!"</p><p>Everyone had their reactions, but then Quasi said timidly, "But how will we get the rest of the money?"</p><p>"Fundraisers?" I proposed, looking around for conformation.</p><p>"Ugh, fundraisers are not 'fun', Tia," Lottie groaned, rolling her eyes and popping her gum.</p><p>"Hey!" Cindy cried, feigning hurt since she was the one who organized fundraisers.</p><p>"No offense, sweetheart, but if we straight up ask for money it seems like we're a charity or somethin'," Lottie explained, waving her hands. "We need somethin' that would actually be exciting, somethin' that the kids could participate in."</p><p>We sat in silence, brainstorming ideas for what Lottie had said. Jane suddenly snapped her fingers. "I've got it! What about a talent show?"</p><p>Lottie screamed again. "Oh, Jane, that is perfect! A talent show! Oh, what fun!"</p><p>"We could set a price for tickets, and then have a bake sale or something during it!" Quasi offered, grinning. </p><p>"Yes!"</p><p>"I could ask Daisy to hold a fundraiser night at the diner where some of the income goes to the trip?" I said, smiling. My idea was taking off.</p><p>"My daddy would give some money towards it -- he's a gold star patron to this school," Lottie chimed.</p><p>"Do you think it can be done, Fairy Godmother?" Jane asked excitedly. "Do you think we could go to Paris for spring break?"</p><p>Fairy Godmother and Minnie were both excitedly whispering to each other. "Anything is possible, dear," the vice principal said with a warm twinkle in her eye. "You are preparing perfectly early, and your money raising ideas sound wonderful. I'll talk to Mickey about it as well."</p><p>We all cheered, and then left to go home, chatting about our upcoming trip to Paris. I couldn't wait. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello, my beautiful friends! How are things going? How did you enjoy this chapter? What is going on between Eric and Vanessa and her mother? Why is Vanessa giving him so much money, in return for a relationship? There's going to be a talent show, isn't that exciting? And possibly a Paris trip? What do you think will happen in those events? </p><p>Question of the Chapter: Have you ever participated in a talent show? If so, what did you perform?</p><p>My answer: yes, I did in kindergarten and second grade, haha. I did ballet dances with my friends, it was quite fun.</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>HERCULES</p><p>"All right, see you guys later," I said, gathering my things and leaving the locker room full of sweaty football players. Our practices have gotten better. It took a while to adjust once we lost Mulan, and we aren't as good as we used to be, but Jim and Kocoum were getting into the routine a bit more. I think we have a shot at winning a few of the games that remained.</p><p>I began walking to the football field exit and towards the dorms. "Wonderboy! Hey, Herc!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I smiled and turned around to see Meg running towards me, clutching a stitch in her side.</p><p>"Hey, Meg. How are you?" I asked, smiling gently down at her as she joined me by my side.</p><p>"Fine, fine. Um, hey, are you too tired?" she asked, catching her breath, grinning but not being able to meet my eyes. I felt a warm feeling sprout in my chest, and butterflies took over my throat.</p><p>"Um, a bit, yeah. You know, football really takes it out of you. It's very hard..." I said dumbly. She smirked. I cleared my throat. "Too tired to do what?"</p><p>"I bet," she replied. I could tell she was refraining from laughing at me. "Um, I was wondering if you wanted to join me at a concert? I got two tickets for The Catfish Club," she said smoothly, her tranquil violet gaze practically melting me.</p><p>"Um -- uh -- yeah! Yes, that sounds great!" I stuttered, my face going red.</p><p>She chuckled. "Meet you in the lobby at 7, Herc." She walked away, hips swaying. I had no idea where she was going, she seemed to do it just for dramatic effect -- anyway, that's not the point. The point is that I was just asked out by Megara Creon! I excitedly punched the air and ran as fast as I could towards the dorm buildings.</p><p>As I neared my room, I could hear Britney Spears music blasting. I sighed. It must be Kuzco again, even though Adam and I have specifically told him to turn it down. I unlocked the door, and sure enough was met with the loud music and Kuzco's singing. I looked down. He was on the floor, in front of a mirror. He was...putting on makeup? His face was caked with the stuff, and his black hair was hidden away by what looked like pantyhose.</p><p>"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.</p><p>Kuzco jumped up and screamed, running into the bathroom. He slammed the door and locked it. I furrowed my brows, looking back at the piles of makeup.</p><p>"Kuzco....What's going on?" I asked, nearing the bathroom door.</p><p>"Go away, Hercules!" he shouted, sounding like he was in tears. "This is none of your business, and don't tell anyone!"</p><p>I paused. I was still extremely confused. "No, I'm going to stay," I said firmly. "What are you doing?"</p><p>"I said, nothing! Just leave me alone!" Kuzco shouted through the door. I hesitated.</p><p>"Are you doing your makeup?" I asked.</p><p>There was a pause, and a loud sniff from inside the room. "Maybe," came the quiet, ashamed reply.</p><p>"Why are you hiding then? Are you afraid of it? Afraid of me?"</p><p>Another sniff. "Aren't you afraid of it? The coolest, hottest guy on the football team is rooming with a fag, right? Who knows what they may be doing together? Aren't you scared of rumors, Wonderboy?"</p><p>I paused. Is that what he thinks I think? I hadn't even thought about what rooming with a gay person could mean. It should mean nothing. "No, I'm not, Kuzco. I'm not afraid of the rumors, I'm not afraid of you, and I'm not afraid of makeup. Makeup is cool, man."</p><p>Kuzco gave a half hearted laugh. "Well aren't you fearless. Even I'm scared of it."</p><p>I smiled. "Come on! You watch those drag races all the time, and honestly, they're pretty cool," I told him, leaning on the wall.</p><p>There was a pause. "You think so?"</p><p>"Yep."</p><p>I could hear him take a big breath. "Well that's good news." I laughed again.</p><p>"Why don't you come out and finish your makeup and everything, I'll sit in the hall and then we can talk about it, okay?" I suggested.</p><p>There was another large sniff. "Okay."</p><p>I went into the hall, the Britney music still blaring behind me, and sat against the wall. I pulled out my phone. It was 6:30! I was supposed to meet Meg at 7! I squeezed my eyes shut and ran my hand through my hair. I couldn't leave Kuzco. I quickly texted Meg that I wasn't going to be able to make it and that I was extremely sorry. It felt like being punched in the gut, but I had to do it. I had to stay with my friend. </p><p>At some point, Adam came walking down the hall to our room. I panicked. "Uh, hey man, I wouldn't go in there if I were you," I said quickly, scrambling to stand in front of the door. Adam frowned. I continued, giving a sheepish grin. "Yeah, Kuzco is having one of his crying fits over 'love, actually' again," I yelled loudly, hopefully so that Kuzco would get the hint. Right on cue, he did one of his signature wails. "You know how it is."</p><p>Adam rolled his eyes. "Ugh, he's so stupid. Fine. I'll go get some food, but he'd better be done by the time I get back." I nodded and pretended to be annoyed with Kuzco as well. Adam walked away broodily, and I released my breath.</p><p>"Thanks," Kuzco said through the door. I smiled.</p><p>A while later, Kuzco changed his music to some loud drag queen music. He said loudly to me, "Are you ready?"</p><p>I wasn't sure if I was supposed to respond or not. Right as the beat dropped, Kuzco opened the door. "My name is Dolly Llama. Nice you meet you."</p><p>I gasped. Kuzco was not Kuzco anymore. In his place was someone with insane eyeliner, eyelashes, eyeshadow. She wore insane gold earrings and bangles and rings, along with a short red strapless dress and long, black hair in a high ponytail. "Oh...my god," I said, in shock.</p><p>"Hiii," Kuzco said, laughing.</p><p>"You're like... a whole new person!"</p><p>Kuzco chuckled and nodded sheepishly, looking down at his hands. "Do you like it?"</p><p>I laughed. "Yeah! This is super cool, Kuzco. Or should I say Dolly Llama... Thank you for trusting me."</p><p>He laughed. "Thank you for...accepting me, Hercules. Thanks." Suddenly, he gave me a huge hug. I laughed, a little surprised, but hugged him back. He was almost as tall as me in those shoes.</p><p>He let go and daintily wiped his eyes, laughing. "Okay. I'm going to take this off before Adam comes back."</p><p>"Good idea." He smiled again and returned to the bathroom. I looked at my phone. It was 7:45. I thought of Meg. Could I make it?</p><p>I hurriedly called Meg, who hadn't texted back yet. "Hey Meg! My plans were cancelled! Do you think I'd be able to make it?"</p><p>"What? Where are you?"</p><p>"In my dorm."</p><p>"I'm at the venue, if you run and catch a cab you could probably make it!" she said, laughing.</p><p> I grabbed some money as I was running out of the door, bidding goodbye to Kuzco. I smiled into the phone. "I will be there as soon as possible."</p><p>Meg chuckled, and I could practically hear her shaking her head. "You're crazy, Wonderboy." I grinned and ran into a taxi.</p><p>I was quickly driven to the venue, which I could already hear music coming from. "Thank you!" I said quickly, handing him money and scrambling out. Right in the front, Meg was waiting, looking around. </p><p>"Meg!" I shouted, and she turned. I approached her and gave her a hug, but quickly let go when I realized she was not into it. "Sorry."</p><p>She looked a bit uncomfortable. "It's okay." She put a smile on. "Want to go in?" She handed me a ticket and we walked inside.</p><p>It was dark in the audience, and loud music was pulsing through the arena like an earthquake. Dancing people surrounded us, blue and red lights momentarily flashing on their faces.</p><p>Meg grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stage, fighting through the people. We arrived right in front of the stage, where Sebastian, the lead singer stood. </p><p>"Hey, isn't Ariel's older sister in this band?" I yelled over the noise.</p><p>"Yeah, Arista! She dropped out of school to go on tour!" she yelled back, and I looked at the platinum blonde girl shredding on the guitar. She was wearing a revealing all-black outfit, with numerous piercings.</p><p>Meg cheered as the song ended, as did I. "Hi, Meg!" someone shouted, and we turned around. Ariel, wearing a Catfish Club t-shirt was waving at us. She must be here to cheer on her sister. I smiled.</p><p>"Hey, Ariel! Great concert!" Meg said back.</p><p>"I know, right?" she said excitedly, but the next song began, deafening us. The crowd surged again and Ariel was carried away. I grabbed Meg's elbow subconsciously in order to keep her close to me.</p><p>We spent the night dancing and singing along to the songs, joining the crowds movements and melodies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The concert ended way to soon, and we were filing out along with the rest of the attendees. Among the last ones, we were alone outside the venue, only street lights bathing us. I turned to her, smiling "Thank you for taking me," I said sincerely. "Sorry I was late."</p><p>She smirked. "Of course, Wonderboy. But what were you caught up with?"</p><p>I froze, thinking back at Kuzco, which seemed like ages ago. "Um... just a friend in need."</p><p>Meg looked down and muttered, "You really are perfect."</p><p>My stomach did a flip. "What?"</p><p>Her violet eyes darted up to me and she coughed. "N-nothing--"</p><p>I cut in, taking her hands. "I think you're perfect too, Meg," I told her in a soft voice.</p><p>I could hear her breath catch, and she stared intensely at our intertwined hands. I was nervous, but I felt the time was right. I tilted her chin up with my finger, and her eyes met mine. I began to lean in, close my eyes --</p><p>But nothing happened. "I-I'm sorry, Hercules," Meg whispered, sounding teary. Her hands left mine, and I opened my eyes to see her running from me, crying.</p><p>"Meg!" I cried, my heart dropping. I had been too fast, too forward, too much. And now she's gone.</p><p>I slowly walked all the way home, clutching my concert ticket in my hand. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello friends! how are you? how'd you enjoy this chapter? a bunch happened, what do you think? kuzco is a drag queen? where do you think this will go? do you support dolly llama? if the secret were ever leaked, how do you think people will react? and how do you feel about the catfish club? and oh my god, what happened between meg and herc? why would meg run away from him? what do you think is going to happen between them? </p><p>Question of the Chapter: what did you do over the holidays? what gifts did you get?</p><p>My Answer: i haven't done much except watch tv and read and try (and fail) to write more. my favorite gifts that I got were a new phone!!! a record player, and lots of journalling supplies.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>JASMINE</p><p>I skipped down the hall to lunch with a happy smile on my face. Ever since that dreamy night at the pool with Aladdin, we had been stealing little kisses in private, giggling at our big secret. I knew it was wrong to be the "side chick" of Aladdin when he was still technically dating Tiger. I felt bad, because she's my friend. But also, I kind of didn't. I had never felt as magical and adventurous as I did with him.</p><p>It had only been a couple days since we had that stolen night in the pool, and in between Mulan had gotten hurt and Ariel had supposedly gotten kidnapped. Although I was worried and hurt for them, it all seemed small when I was with Aladdin. Nothing else mattered.</p><p>Speaking of, I spied Aladdin striding down the hall, coming towards me with that adorable grin. "Hey," I said quietly, intending to nonchalantly act as if nothing was happening between us. Clearly, he had the opposite idea.</p><p>He grabbed my waist and spun me around, causing a small yelp to erupt from my mouth as he dipped me and kissed me. I smiled once he broke away and looked into his chocolate brown eyes as he whipped me back up.</p><p>"What was that?" I asked, warily checking my surroundings to see if anyone was near. So far, so good. However, my body was still pressed to his, and someone could walk around the corner at any moment. A rush of adrenaline ran through my body.</p><p>"What, I can't kiss the most beautiful woman in the world?" Aladdin asked smoothly, smirking. I hit his shoulder while grinning, pushing myself away from him.</p><p>"What if someone sees us?" I asked in an urgent, hushed tone. "You're still dating Tiger."</p><p>"Yeah, well, I was going to break up with her after school," Aladdin told me with a smug look.</p><p>"Really?" I cried, gasping and throwing my arms around his neck. He laughed until I released him, but with my eyebrow lifted. "Wait...don't hurt her. She's my friend. And we probably should wait to go public until a while after."</p><p>Aladdin groaned. "Ugh, I don't wanna. I want to show you off to the world!" He spin me around.</p><p>I laughed, my face heating up. I patted his cheek. "Just you wait."</p><p>"You know what? The sooner I break up with Tiger, the sooner I get to be with you! I'll go do it right now!" And with that, he dashed off to the cafeteria.</p><p>"Don't hurt her!" I shouted after him, but smiling to myself afterward. </p><p>•••</p><p>After school, I walked up to Mulan's dorm with Nani and Esmeralda. Mulan left school at lunchtime now, and today everyone was going to her dorm to talk and help her with homework, since she couldn't go anywhere. We arrived, and eventually the small dorm room was filled with Mulan, Poca, Kida, me, Esme, Nani, Judy, Tiger, Meg, and Merida. We sat wherever we could, which included desks, chairs, beds, and the floor.</p><p>"Mulan, I hear that Giselle has been walking you home?" Meg asked with a smirk, raising her eyebrow at her friend. Mulan blushed.</p><p>"Yeah. She's super sweet and helps me with all my homework and sends me the notes I missed."</p><p>"Awwww," some of us cooed. "Is she still dating Edward?" Nani asked. Mulan's face fell.</p><p>"Yeah. I don't know what to do about that."</p><p>"It'll work out," I said. "Just don't make her cheat on him, you know? It could...um...really mess up her mind." I had suddenly grown warm, and I looked down. It was exactly what I had been doing with Aladdin.</p><p>"Um, anyway," I said uncomfortably, "I was thinking of passing around flyers for my Halloween party? What do you think?" I had been planning a huge party at my father's mansion for Halloween, and I was practically inviting the whole school.</p><p>"Oh yeah!" everyone said excitedly. "I'll help you pass them out tonight!" Tiana offered. I smiled at her and the conversation continued.</p><p>"Nani, has anything happened with you and David?" Merida asked. Nani had been hardcore crushing on David since kindergarten, and we could tell that he felt the same way. It had been our mission for eleven years to get them together, but they're both too shy.</p><p>Nani shook her head, blushing as well. "No. The most we ever do is end up at the pool at the same time together. And sometimes we happen to sit at the same library table."</p><p>"You should ask him to go surfing with you! You both love it, right?" Esme exclaimed.</p><p>"Yeah, but it is the middle of October."</p><p>"Oh," was all that was said, and there was a pause.</p><p>"Esme," Tiger said, a smirk growing on her face, "did I see you leave a janitors closet with Milo Thatch today at lunch?"</p><p>Esmeralda immediately turned a ruby red, brushing thick black hair behind her ear. "Oooooh!" we all crooned, teasing.</p><p>"Possibly," Esmeralda replied, looking at all of us, her piercing green eyes laughing too. We all giggled, but I thought I saw Kida roll their eyes and shift away from where Esme was sitting.</p><p>"How are things going with Aladdin, Tiger?" Judy asked happily.</p><p>I tensed, my eyes shooting up to her. She didn't flinch. "Oh, we broke up today," she said smoothly, leaning back on her palms.</p><p>"What?" everyone shouted, except for me. I kept my head down.</p><p>"Yeah, we just weren't the happy with each other. He found someone else," Tiger said, smiling and looking completely calm.</p><p>"Do you know who it is? We could go punch her if ye like!" Merida said, sitting up and grinning.</p><p>"No, no. I... I don't know who it is. But as long as they're happy together, I'm happy," she said, choosing her words carefully. I felt my heart warm up. The others quickly moved on from the topic, asking Meg about her concert with Hercules, but I locked eyes with Tiger and mouthed, Thank you. She smiled and gave a small nod. </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p>The day after I confronted Vanessa, she had sent my mother the money needed to cover her surgery. I hated what I was doing, but it was necessary. My mom needed it to survive, and that was the only way to justify it.</p><p>Four years ago, my mom, Eleanora Caspian, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. A huge tumor had manifested and grown over time. I had been eleven years old when she had started having seizures, memory loss, and personality changes. We were living alone together, and I didn't know what to do. I called 911 the day she hit me.</p><p>She was whisked away in a busy, loud ambulance, and the next day my aunt told me that she had been diagnosed with meningiomas, a developing tumor in her brain. That it wasn't my fault. </p><p>Over the years, she had surgery after surgery. I continued going to school, living with our old butler, Grimsby. Each time I visited my mom, she was asleep or had no idea who I was. I was a stranger to her.</p><p>Since my father had died a couple years earlier, our money supply had decreased. In eighth grade, Vanessa had targeted me. She wanted me to be her boyfriend, but on top of all that was happening, I didn't want to be in a relationship. But Vanessa thought differently. First, she blackmailed me.</p><p>We had done a few things together, in darkened classrooms or behind the gym. No one was supposed to know. I shouldn't have done it, but I was so... angry. At everything. And she used it against me. She would tell everyone what we were doing if I didn't date her. So I surrendered.</p><p>Soon, the blackmailing wasn't going to hurt me as much, so I threatened to leave her. But then she knew about my mother. She said that she could help her. Send her money to pay for the treatments. So I stayed. I've done her bidding up until now.</p><p>But now it didn't seem worth it.</p><p>I have hurt Ariel — badly this time. And my mom has been undergoing all kinds of treatment, from surgery to radiation to chemo. None of it has worked. She doesn't remember anything, even what is wrong with her. She lashes out and then will sleep for days. The doctors say they don't know how long she will be able to hold on.</p><p>I didn't know how long I can either.</p><p>•••</p><p>We had a full day of rehearsal today. At 7:50 AM, I was walking down to the lobby, rushing to get to the theater at 8. I saw a familiar bun of red hair, and my face immediately brightened. "Ariel!" I called, beginning to run. "Wait up!"</p><p>She turned and grinned shyly, holding the door. "Hi Eric."</p><p>"How are you?" I asked, and we fell into step beside each other as we began walking towards the school.</p><p>She continued looking down and tugged at her hair. "I'm all right. I just... try not to think about what happened," she said, referring to Vanessa, and the kidnapping I had assisted with.</p><p>I sighed, scratching my ear. "Look... I'm sorry that that happened to you."</p><p>She stared at me quizzically. "Why? It's not your fault."</p><p>I felt my face burn and I coughed. Do I tell her that it actually was? I glanced at her smiling face, and decided not to — not yet. We had a rehearsal to get to.</p><p>"Right," I responded quickly. "Um, we should probably go."</p><p>She looked at her phone, we had two minutes to get to the stage. Ariel gasped. I grinned and took her hand, and we took off running towards campus. We arrived to a bustling theater, full of students chatting, warming up their voices and bodies. We went to put our bags backstage, and she shyly kept up the conversation. "So, are you going to be in the talent show? Don't you play guitar and flute?"</p><p>I blushed. "Sorta...I mean..." I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.</p><p>"Oh, come on, you should!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on my arm. I felt tingles at the point of contact. My heart fluttered. "The least you could do is sing. You have a great voice."</p><p>I smiled, looking down at her. "Thanks. But I don't know if I will, what with Grease and all."</p><p>"Oh. Yeah, I suppose. I hope you'll try, though."</p><p>I smiled. "Thanks. But what about you? You should sing. Your voice is... incredible."</p><p>She froze, and then looked up at me. "R-really?"</p><p>I laughed. "Of course. Your singing is amazing, and I'm surprised that you're just an understudy. If it were up to me, you'd be the lead."</p><p>She blushed ferociously, tucking her hair behind her ear and stumbling over her words. "T-thanks, Eric. Um, that's really sweet."</p><p>"Curtain in five!" one of the student directors, Zarina yelled to the talkative cast and crew members.</p><p>I smiled at Ariel apologetically and rushed off to my place backstage, meeting Aurora there. "Hello, Eric. Have a nice chat with Ariel?" she asked with a friendly smirk.</p><p>I chuckled and blushed, but wasn't able to respond as the curtain rose to reveal Milo, Cinderella, and Charlotte as Eugene, Patty, and the principal. They were gathered around a podium with a fake microphone, beginning the Rydell High alma mater. "As I go travelling down life's highway</p><p>Whatever course my fortunes may foretell</p><p>I shall not go alone on my way</p><p>For thou shalt always be with me, Rydell!" </p><p> </p><p>TINK</p><p>"I'll have a vanilla sweet cream cold brew, iced, with soy milk and light ice and only one pump of syrup," Kuzco said to Meg. We were at the Black Cauldron Cafe, on our weekly Saturday morning visit to 'do homework,' which always ended up as just gossiping.</p><p>"I'll take an almond milk cappuccino, please," I told her. I am lactose intolerant, while Kuzco is vegan. He has a weird thing with animals, especially llamas. It seems to be a personal issue. Meg wrote down our orders and put it on our tabs. She seemed distant, lost in thought. I studied her for a moment and then we hurried over to our normal spot.</p><p>It was a sunny set of chairs facing each other, each with a side table and near the door. We liked to sit near the door because it provided fresh gossip topics when a new person walked in each time.</p><p>"So. You introduced Dolly Llama to Herc?" I asked, smiling and keeping my voice down. Before last night, I was the only one who knew about Kuzco's drag career. I helped him learn what to do with makeup, and sometimes I would go undercover for him to buy dresses and accessories.</p><p>Kuzco smiled. "Yeah. It was actually super great. I think I'm even more in love with him than I was."</p><p>"Is that even possible?" I snickered, and Kuzco's name was called out. He stood to retrieve his drink, grabbing mine as well.</p><p>"Tink, I don't know what to do about him," he continued as he sat down, handing me my mug.</p><p>I shrugged. "Didn't he go to a concert with Meg last night too?"</p><p>Kuzco huffed, rolling his eyes as he took a sip. "Yes, but he came back all grumpy. Ooh, I wonder what happened!"</p><p>I smiled sadly. "Kuzco. I think that man is the straightest you can get. He's head over heels for Meg."</p><p>He groaned and sunk down in his seat, moping. I took a sip of my coffee. "Well, it's a work in progress, Tink. What guy wouldn't want a piece of this?" he said, motioning to himself. I rolled my eyes.</p><p>Suddenly, Kuzco gasped loudly, bringing his hands to his face. "OH MY GOD, TINK!" he shouted, staring at me with intense wide eyes. I jumped.</p><p>"What? Jeez, Kuzco," I said, my heart rate going down.</p><p>He was grinning like mad, and grabbed one of my hands. "What if," he began quietly, "I was Dolly Llama in the talent show!"</p><p>I was frozen for a few seconds, my mouth open in a confused expression. Then I blinked, and the excitement fell. "I don't... I don't think that's a good idea," I told him consolingly, squeezing his hand.</p><p>His grin melted, causing me to grimace. "I want people to know," he said pleadingly, holding my hand tighter. "You and Hercules can't be the only ones forever. If I do this, I'll finally feel free, you know?"</p><p>I tried so hard not to look at his eyes. But I failed. He was doing the pouting face again, where his eyes got so round and sad. I looked away. "I don't want you to get hurt!" I said, tearing my hand from his. "What about guys like Adam and Naveen and Gaston?"</p><p>"You said yourself that Hercules is the straightest guy ever, but he still accepted it! Why can't they?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and said to him, "But Hercules is also the nicest guy ever."</p><p>It was Kuzco's turn to roll his eyes. "Tinkerbell, what's the worst that could happen?"</p><p>I scoffed. "You can get hurt! Adam is your roommate, you think he's just going to be completely chill with Dolly Llama? And Gaston literally crushed Mulan's ribs!"</p><p>Kuzco sighed. "Tink. I... honestly don't care. You don't think that I've been beaten up before? Once I wore dangling earrings to school and three guys tackled me afterwards. I'm used to it."</p><p>I took a breath, looking down. I squeezed his hand. "Okay. Okay, let's put on a talent show."</p><p>Kuzco began to smile, and he sat up. "Really? You'll help me?"</p><p>I sighed and nodded, "I'll help. I'll make sure you don't get hurt, somehow."</p><p>Kuzco squeezed my hands so hard I yelped and pulled them away, laughing. "Okay, okay, you're welcome!" I told him.</p><p>"Thank you!" he shouted, his brown eyes gleaming. "Oh, this is going to be so fabulous. I think we should get some confetti, maybe make a runway somehow? And I'll need a new dress—" His gaze flicked over to the counter and his eyes narrowed. "Don't turn around."</p><p>Obviously, I immediately twisted in my seat, peering over the velvet material.</p><p>There stood Peter and Wendy, ordering practically a feast of pastries. Wendy was giggling and laying her head on his chest, and his hand resided on the small of her back. She was also carrying a box of chocolates and a teddy bear. She tried to pay for the food but Peter blocked her and paid for all of it himself, saying to her, "My treat, Darling."</p><p>I could feel my cheeks turning red with anger, like they always do. I turned back around, my eyes stinging and my stomach churning. The cappuccino wasn't very tempting anymore.</p><p>"I told you not to look," Kuzco said, giving me a pointed glance while sipping the drink. I rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn't get Peter out of my mind. That should be me with him.</p><p>"It's so unfair!" I finally blurted, throwing my hands up. "Alice and I were his best friends before perfect little Wendy Moira Angela Darling showed up! I gave Peter everything! We meant everything to each other! And then this little brunette bitch shows up with her little nightgown and steals him from the both of us!"</p><p>Kuzco was nodding the entire time. He'd heard this outburst before, and each time I complained, I got more and more frustrated. Suddenly, my eyes widened and I sat forward. Kuzco knew the look. I was about to spill some major gossip. He leaned in as well, a smirk in his eyes.</p><p>"Wait... You know how I told you that Wendy made Peter and Alice go on a 'friend date' a couple weeks ago?" I said in a low voice, my eyes glinting. He nodded. I could feel my heart speeding up at the plan formulating in my head. I whispered, "Alice told me that she kissed him."</p><p>Kuzco's mouth dropped open. "Moira Angela doesn't know?" he asked, calling Wendy by his favorite names of hers.</p><p>I shook my head. "If I could be the one to tell Wendy... and make it seem like Peter and Alice really didn't want her to know.... Wendy will break up with Peter! And then Peter obviously couldn't be with Alice, because that would be immoral. And then which childhood friend will he turn to, one who he could trust? Me! And he'll realize what he's been missing this whole time! Kuzco, it's perfect!" I cried, the excitement building. I felt like a mastermind.</p><p>"Ooh, she's getting a little malicious," he said, smiling. "I love it."</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: Hello my friends!!! I would just like to say that I love you!</p><p>Okay. Wow, we had an action packed chapter today!! It was very long, which i didn't really mean, but you're welcome! jasmine and aladdin have been fooling around behind everyone's backs, and now tiger and aladdin are broken up! are you excited about jaladdin (idk if that's a thing) being real?? and there's a halloween party coming up! what are some costumes you think people will go as? what do you think is going to happen?</p><p>we finally have found out why eric is with vanessa, and why he hurt ariel! it's to save his mother! how do you feel about that? do you think what he's been doing is justified? are you excited for the musical? what's going to go down when that happens? do you think eric will tell ariel what he's been doing? how will she react?</p><p>and finally, the Dolly Llama will be revealed to the entire school!!! what do you think is going to happen?? do you think it's a good idea? what do you think of tinkerbell's plan of splitting wendy and peter? will it work?</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MEG</p><p>"I don't know. I mean, Simba is cute, but not my type," Vidia, one of my best friends was saying. I was sitting with her in the quiet cafe, with Elsa as the only other customer. I knew Phil was going to bust me for taking a break for a while, but I felt like I never got to talk to Vidia anymore. We were practically the same person; our favorite color is purple, we both have dark, slightly colored hair, we both love to wear black, and  both speak the same language: sarcasm.</p><p>I nodded absently, and took a sip of the coffee I had made her. It wasn't that good. My mind wasn't on coffee this morning. Only two nights ago, I had taken Hercules to the concert. He tried to kiss me. I ran away.</p><p>"Earth to Meg!" Vidia shouted, snapping in front of my eyes. "Jesus, you look like a zombie. What's wrong?"</p><p>I shook my head, blinking. "Sorry," I said, setting down her mug. "Um, nothing. I'm good."</p><p>Vidia suddenly turned serious. "Is it your dad again?" she asked quietly, leaning close to me. I grimaced. I hadn't thought of my adoptive father in weeks, which had been blissful. But I pulled out my phone to find out that he had called me 78 times in the last three weeks. I had his notifications on silent. He owned this big company called The Underworld, which sold everything online from houseplants to backpacks to sex toys -- anything you could imagine. He was always wanting me to do stupid favors for him to get him more customers, somewhat unfairly. I was tired of it.</p><p>"No, but thanks for bringing him up," I replied bitterly, stashing my phone back in my pocket.</p><p>"Wow, sorry. It's not like he wouldn't have come up sooner or later. So who shit in your cereal?" Vidia said sharply, crossing her legs away from me. I knew she wasn't really mad, though. We always acted like this with each other.</p><p>"Hercules Olympus," I revealed to her, rolling my eyes and not meeting hers.</p><p>"Ooh, do tell!" She uncrossed her legs.</p><p>I sighed, not really wanting to go over the situation in detail. "I took him to that Catfish Club concert --"</p><p>"The one you blew me off for, right," she interrupted, giving me a glare and nodding. I smiled a bit, punching her arm. She tried not to grin.</p><p>"Yes, that one. Yeah, it was fun, but then afterwards he tried to kiss me," I told her in a low voice, glancing over at Elsa, who was taking notes silently, her earbuds in.</p><p>Vidia gave me a blank stare. "So?" she asked eventually. "You've been on, like, three dates with him already, right? So that's fine!"</p><p>I shook my head. The coffee between us had grown cold. "I haven't kissed anyone since..."</p><p>Vidia knew what I was talking about. Staying as light as possible, she said, "Don't be silly, you kissed Merida when we were playing Spin the Bottle at game night."</p><p>I looked at her, annoyed. "You know that doesn't even count. It wasn't romantic, we both knew that. Hercules is different. He's an actual...option. Just like you-know-who was."</p><p>Vidia sighed again, placing a hand on my arm. "Meg, that was two years ago. Now you know I'm not telling you to get over it, I would never do that. What... what Adam did to you was horrible, and I know you're still scared. But maybe hiding away all your life, maybe that is going to make you even more scared? Maybe you should give Hercules a chance, he may surprise you. Get your mind off of it."</p><p>I sighed. "But what if he hurts me too?" I asked quietly, ashamedly. I was never weak like this. Especially over guys.</p><p>(TRIGGER WARNING!! RAPE AND ABUSE. please skip over if you need until you see this part end!)</p><p>"I know, that seems scary, but Hercules is one of the nicest guys in the entire world. I'm sure if you tell him what happened to you, he'd be so respectful and caring, it will make you feel so much better."</p><p>"I don't want to repeat what Adam did to me," I mumbled angrily, recoiling slightly in my seat.</p><p>But the truth was, I did relive it -- every single day in my head. Adam covering my mouth, pinning me down, my magenta dress being ripped from me. That was the last time I had worn anything colorful.</p><p>"Oh no," Vidia whispered, looking past me. I felt my stomach fill with dread as I turned around. Adam Beast was drumming his large hands on the counter, a glint of rage already building in his eyes. I could taste bile lurching up in my throat. "I'll take care of him --" Vidia reassured me in a low voice, beginning to stand. I did before her, with a determined look on my face, and I hurried to the computer.</p><p>Adam snarled down at me, and I tried not to cross my legs as I said quietly, "How can I help you?"</p><p>"Black coffee, extra strong. Put it on my tab," he demanded. I nodded and hurriedly punched it in, not meeting his eyes. I didn't ask him if that would be all. I began making the drink, my hands shaking.</p><p>"Shit," I hissed. I had spilled his finished coffee all over my arms, my hands had been shaking so bad. I felt myself grow pale.</p><p>"What's taking so long? I have Gliss waiting for me!" Adam yelled. I flinched and croaked out "sorry" before restarting the coffee machine.</p><p>I eventually set down the cup on the counter in front of him, and he grunted while snatching it up. "Useless bitch," he grumbled, taking a sip, grimacing, and stomping out of the cafe. I felt my whole body relax, tension releasing down to the ends of my hair. I partially collapsed against the counter. Elsa and Vidia were by my sides in seconds.</p><p>(TRIGGER WARNING ENDED. basically Meg and Adam had a very bad, horrible relationship and Adam just came in, making Meg and him interact for the first time since they broke up. Meg is shaken)</p><p>"It's okay...You're okay," Elsa said softly, petting my hair.</p><p>"You handled him really well," Vidia told me. I nodded to acknowledge the lie. They were about to take me over to the couch when the overhead bell rang, and another customer walked in.</p><p>"Woah, are you okay?" a concerned voice immediately asked. I took in a breath. Hercules.</p><p>I straightened up, shaking off my friends. "Fine. What can I get you?"</p><p>The light from outside surrounded Hercules, casting a heavenly glow around him. I held back from scoffing. Even the light worked in his favor. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked again, holding a cautionary hand out to me.</p><p>"Positive," I said,  plastering my signature sarcastic smile on my face. "Now do you want coffee?"</p><p>"Hercules?" Phil shouted from the back room, bursting through the door. "Make sure his drink is sugar-free! I can't lose another player to diabetes or something."</p><p>"You got it, coach," Hercules replied, winking at him. Phil smiled and returned to the back. "Um, I'll have a latte with no sugar."</p><p>I nodded. "Anything else?"</p><p>He chuckled. "Um, a conversation with Megara Creon?"</p><p>My eyes flitted up to him and I said dryly, "Sorry, we just ran out."</p><p>"Meg, please—"" Hercules began to plead, and my heart wrenched. I kept the frost radiating off of me, and I quickly made his drink and handed it to him.</p><p>"Come back in a few days," I said cooly, going to clean the machines and barely glancing at him. "We may have restocked by then."</p><p>He chuckled, but returned to pleading with me. "Please, Meg, I just want to say that I'm sorry. I - I shouldn't have moved onto you, and that fast. I'm just really, really sorry, Meg," he said, with the most sincere and heartbroken voice I had ever heard.</p><p>But I had heard it before. And I wasn't falling for it.</p><p>"Have a nice day, Olympus," I told him, staring at his ocean blue eyes, forcing as much ice into my gaze as possible.</p><p>He deflated and sadly took his coffee, giving me a forlorn smile. He walked out of the cafe. I almost collapsed for the second time that morning.</p><p>"You okay?" Vidia asked, standing up again and beginning to walk behind the counter. I nodded, shielding myself so that she wouldn't touch me.</p><p>"Phil, Meg's gonna go home, she's had a shit day and it's only seven in the morning. I'll cover her shift!" Vidia yelled. I started shaking my head, but Vidia wouldn't hear of it. She began untying my apron for me and putting it around her own waist.</p><p>"Elsa, would you mind walking little miss Creon back to her dorm?" she asked, and Elsa was already out of her seat before the first syllable, nodding. She walked over, placing her almost-empty hot chocolate mug in the dirty dishes station and taking my arm. I finally submitted, sighing and melting into Elsa's grasp.</p><p>"Thanks, V," I said, laughing a little at myself. "I'm sorry. I'm pathetic."</p><p>Vidia suddenly grabbed my shoulders and tilted my chin up. She glared at me fiercely and said, "Megara, you are not pathetic. At all. Do you hear me?"</p><p>I flinched and nodded, feeling a thankful warmth growing in my chest. "Yes," I said quietly. "Thank you."</p><p>Elsa led me out of the cafe and down the sidewalk, through campus towards the dorm buildings. Seven AM was our rush hour, and on the way I saw multiple people heading towards the Black Cauldron Cafe to get their morning coffee. I felt bad for leaving Vidia there. However, we passed Eilonwy and Taran, who were going to join Vidia for their shifts, which made me feel better.</p><p>"Um, are you okay?" Elsa asked me shyly after a while. "You were pretty shaken up back there."</p><p>I sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It was just... a lot. That was the first time I talked to Adam in... well, since we dated."</p><p>"You two dated?" she asked in surprise.</p><p>I nodded. "Sadly."</p><p>"So I assume you had an ugly breakup?"</p><p>I grimaced. "You could say that."</p><p>Elsa didn't push me any further, but I decided to confide in her. I had only ever told Vidia and Merida this. I knew I could trust Elsa. "Um...while we were dating, in eighth grade.... Adam raped me," I told her quietly, forcing my voice not to quiver. I felt Elsa stop in the middle of the sidewalk.</p><p>"Oh, Meg," she breathed, tears pooling in her big blue eyes. "I'm so so sorry. I...I didn't know."</p><p>"It's not your fault. No one knows except Vidia, Merida, and of course, Adam."</p><p>"No teachers? Or your parents? He could get thrown in jail! He should! In eighth grade?" Elsa cried, taking my arms.</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "No teachers would believe me. Of course, I would probably be the one deemed crazy or a liar. And my dad... my dad wouldn't care. He'd probably say something like, 'Good for you, Nutmeg, now go get me a beer.'"</p><p>Elsa suddenly engulfed me in a tight hug. She was, funnily enough, crying. My eyes were dry as ever. "Listen, I'm okay, Elsa. I just...hadn't talked to him in a while."</p><p>She pulled away, gently dabbing at her eyes. "Sorry, sorry, it's sad that I'm the one crying," she laughed.</p><p>I chuckled. "It's all right, Els. I'm glad someone else knows," I said genuinely, rubbing her shoulders. </p><p>Elsa shook herself and dabbed at her eyes one last time. "Okay. Okay, I'm okay. You're sure you're okay?"</p><p>I laughed again and said, "Yes, I'm okay."</p><p>"Okay. Let's get you home," she said, and we continued walking in a comfortable, understanding silence. We entered the building, and a steady stream of students was heading for the cafeteria for breakfast. We rode the elevator, and then I got to my room, right as Giselle was leaving.</p><p>"Oh, good morning, Megara!" she said, a bright smile shining in my face. I tried really, really hard not to roll my eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"</p><p>"Something came up, Giselle," Elsa cut in, giving her a forced smile and pushing past her to open the door.</p><p>"GISELLE!" Edward shouted from the end of the hall, making us all jump.</p><p>"Edward!" she shrieked, slipping between us and diving into Edward's arms. I rolled my eyes and began walking into my room. But, right before, I turned and leaned on the doorframe.</p><p>"Um, thank you, Elsa," I said, giving her a smile.</p><p>"Of course. I'll see you later?" she asked, the ends of her mouth quirking and causing her freckles to move. I melted just a little bit, but shook it off.</p><p>"Yeah. Thanks."</p><p>"Elsa?" She turned.</p><p>"Jack! Bye Meg!" I gave a salute, and watched as she followed Giselle and Edward down the hall, Jack's arm around her. I began to grow a little sad, and then disappeared into my room.</p><p>I gave a deep, angry sigh and dug my hands into my hair. I cursed under my breath, and then I kicked a bed. "UGH!"</p><p>"Oi!" someone yelled, and there was a loud thump. I whipped around and saw a familiar mess of red curls tangled in a jerking pile of sheets.</p><p>"Merida?" I asked, stepping towards her.</p><p>"Meg? Why aren't ye at work?" she asked loudly, popping her head out.</p><p>I fell onto my bed. "Adam came in."</p><p>Merida sat up, a worried look on her face. "Oh no."</p><p>"And then Hercules."</p><p>"Now that's just rude. What did ye do?" she asked, standing and crossing her arms. They were muscly, and I had a temptation to just fall into them. Jesus, snap out of it, Meg.</p><p>"Well, like the hero I am, I almost collapsed both times," I said, laying back and staring angrily at the ceiling. Pathetic.</p><p>"Really?" she asked, astonished.</p><p>I looked over at her, shooting fire. Merida immediately uncrossed her arms, I could tell she was intimidated. "I mean, I don't blame ye. That must've sucked."</p><p>I sighed, going back to staring at the ceiling. "You think?"</p><p>Merida was grabbing her bag, but she stopped suddenly. "Do ya... want me to stay? I mean, I'm totally fine with skipping English class, it's kickin' my arse."</p><p>I shook my head. "No. I'll catch up later. I just need time to yell some curse words at the wall, maybe punch a pillow or two."</p><p>Merida nodded and slipped on her Doc Martins, wishing me goodbye and closing the door behind her. The room was empty. The only word bouncing around in my mind: pathetic.</p><p>My phone suddenly rang, and I groaned, pulling it out. It was my father, his contact name reading "Hades Olympus". His parents had had 3 children, Triton, Hades, and Zeus. They thought they were very clever in their naming choices, they were probably the kinds of people to run a baby-naming blog. However, I am adopted, so I am definitely not related to Hercules or Ariel, who are cousins.</p><p>I begrudgingly answered his phone call.</p><p>"Hello?"</p><p>"Meg! Meg, my little Nutmeg!" he asked quickly. "How's it going? Great, great. I have a favor to ask you."</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Hades-"</p><p>"That Hercules boy goes to your school, right?"</p><p>My heart caught in my throat. I didn't want to talk about Hercules, especially with my dad. "I don't know who-"</p><p>"Yeah, he does, I checked. He's Zeus's son. His dad practically runs his life, right? Ya know, grades, sports, the whole shebang. I need you to, hm, how do you say...? Seduce him. Ensnare him, make him fall in love with you. His grades will fall, he loses a game, Heaven forbid. Zeus will be so distraught, sales will fall, and I will rise triumphant!"</p><p>My eyes began to tear up again. "No, Hades, I can't-"</p><p>"It's a great plan, right?" he asked excitedly, disgusting me.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Well, too bad. I could send you back home any time, right? And you don't want to be taken away from your friends, right? So get busy with Hercules Olympus. I'll talk to you later, Nutmeg." He hung up. I threw my phone across the room, and it slammed into the wall. I shouted a string of curses at the ceiling, a few tears escaping.</p><p>Pathetic. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>EDWARD</p><p>I took a breath. Today was the day. I was going to tell Giselle today. I gripped the bouquet firmly, and made sure the balloons weren't going to float away. I exited the elevator onto Giselle's floor, and passed Pocahontas and John, who were already kissing, this early in the morning. John has a really nice jawbone...</p><p>I shook myself and clutched Giselle's balloons tighter. And then I spotted her, right outside her door and talking chipperly to Elsa and Meg. I smiled, but it felt more like a grimace and shouted out boisterously, "GISELLE!"</p><p>She looked up at me and her face immediately brightened, glowing more so than it already was. I felt like I was actually smiling now as she ran towards me.</p><p>I fell  down on a knee and held out the flowers  and the pink balloons for her. She beamed. "For you, my darling," I said. As an apology in advance, I thought, hoping the expression in my eyes could convey it. I had taken enough acting classes to know how to do that, you'd think it would happen in real life too.</p><p>She laughed happily, her smile shining brighter than ever before. My heart broke for her, and she gathered up the gifts and brought my lips to hers as I stood. "You remembered our 28 month anniversary!" she exclaimed, her eyes dancing as she admired the things. She took a white spring of Baby's Breath flower and tucked it behind her ear, giggling.</p><p>I raised my eyebrows a little quickly in confusion, but played it off. "Of course I remembered our anniversary, my sweet!" I told her loudly, sweeping Giselle up in a hug. I hadn't known it was an anniversary, and that made everything even worse. She was laughing merrily, and we walked down the hall to the elevators.</p><p>We got out at the lobby, where Dale Ranger was waiting for the elevator. I blushed as he looked me up and down as Giselle pulled me out of the elevator.</p><p>So...I'm gay. I figured it out last year, when Philip hugged me after we won a cheerleading competition and I got quite...aroused. Since then I may have experimented some, a few stolen kisses with Kocoum in a janitor's closet here and there. But that was it. And I felt awful about it, so that's why I had to tell Giselle.</p><p>"Edward? Where are you going?" Giselle asked, tugging on my thumb. I blinked, and suddenly realized I was staring at Li Shang, who was running out the door towards the school.</p><p>"What? Oh, sorry, right, we're going to the cafeteria," I said quickly, tearing my eyes away and looking back at Giselle. She giggled and we walked towards the cafeteria.</p><p>I went to get a fruit smoothie -- it was my normal breakfast, something small and healthy to keep my skinny but strong physique. Giselle went over to get her vegan pancakes and fruit. We met up at our usual two-person table, and Giselle began talking again. "Mulan is feeling much better now, and I'm so glad. But that means that I don't get to walk her home anymore..." Her voice faded out.</p><p>And that was another thing! Giselle was always talking about Mulan. They were suddenly best friends. "Edward? Is everything all right? You seem very distant today, darling," Giselle said, taking my hand and setting down her fork. He blue eyes looked concerned.</p><p>"Yes, I'm fine, my love. Just very out of it, today, I'm afraid," I told her nonchalantly, flipping my luscious brown hair out of my eyes.</p><p>She laughed again. "It's all right. Shall we go?" I nodded and we stood up. "I'm so excited for our dinner tonight!"</p><p>I squeezed my eyes shut. I had forgotten. "Yes, me too-"</p><p>"Giselle!" Snow and Cinderella shouted from a few yards away, waving.</p><p>She looked up and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry girls, I'm going to stay with Edward today. It's our anniversary!"</p><p>"Happy anniversary!" they said, nodding, but they looked confused. We had had an anniversary two weeks ago. She went to tuck flowers behind their ears as well.</p><p>I took Giselle's hand after we grabbed our bags and her balloons. We walked down the walkway towards the school. It was cloudy and a bit chilly, but Giselle was happy as ever, pointing at the different kinds of trees, and greeting people and birds as we passed. She handed a little flower to each girl we encountered, effectively putting a smile on their faces as well.</p><p>After homeroom, we bid each other goodbye and she gave me a quick kiss. I walked to my English class, and I suddenly bumped into Adam's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," I said quickly, holding out my hands to him. He looked angry, angrier than usual. He took a step toward me an I flinched.</p><p>"Watch where you're going, fag," he growled, then spit at my new shoes and sauntered away.</p><p>I watched him leave, my eyes filling with tears as I looked at my shoes, stained with his saliva. People were watching, and I looked around at them. "Nothing to see here, my friends!" I said loudly, plastering on an award-winning smile and using my stage voice, which, quite frankly, was my normal voice. "Please, carry on with yourselves! Have a wonderful day!" They began moving again, and I stole away to the bathroom. I quickly wiped away at my shoes, sniffling. I should've known better than to wear these today.</p><p>I finished it quickly and then looked in the mirror, rubbing my eyes a bit. I was going to be late for English, so why not make an entrance? I pulled out an eyelash curler, since they had gotten ruined when I rubbed them, and began to recurl them.</p><p>A stall door banged open, and I jumped, almost ripping out my eyelashes in the process. It was Kuzco. He gave me a once over and went to wash his hands. "You're gonna be late," was all he said, examining his hair in the mirror.</p><p>I caught my breath again and nodded. "I know. I just had to clean up a bit." Kuzco was wearing a white crop top and tight black pants, with black boot heels. He wore gold earrings. He glanced at me.</p><p>"Did someone push you?" he asked casually, putting on some lip balm.</p><p>I looked down. "No, um...Adam spit on my shoes."</p><p>Kuzco stopped and looked over at me once more. "He did?" I nodded. "He's a bitch. You okay?" I nodded again.</p><p>Kuzco stepped over to me and put a hand on my arm. "Chin up, darling." And he left the bathroom, his heels clacking on the floor.</p><p>I took a breath and soon copied his actions, quickly making my way to English class. I burst in, smiling wide. "I'm here, don't worry everyone! Your life is now better."</p><p>Ms. Poppins glared at me coldly from her desk. "Nice of you to join us, Mr. Lockhart."</p><p>"I know," I replied, flicking my hair back and making my way to sit next to Philip, who was laughing. I smiled, looking at him wonderingly. </p><p> </p><p>●●●</p><p> </p><p>"I hope it doesn't rain tonight!" Giselle said in distress, but still smiling as she glanced up to the clouds.</p><p>"Yeah..." I said, my stomach churning. I had to tell her. This couldn't go on. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and Giselle did too.</p><p>"Giselle, I...I have to tell you something," I began, squeezing both her hands and looking into her hopeful eyes. "And I just want to to know that since the moment I met you I have loved you. You're my best friend and I know I can trust you with everything. I hope this doesn't ruin that."</p><p>Giselle cupped my cheek. "I love you Edward. What is it?"</p><p>I took a deep breath and said, "Giselle...I'm gay."</p><p>Her face and hand fell, but I caught it. "Oh," she finally mustered out quietly. "Oh." We stood there for a couple minutes. It started to rain, like a fairytale.</p><p>"Okay. I-I'm glad you told me, Edward. I love you, but....I have to go."</p><p>I held her from turning away. The flowers and balloons were wilting from the rain, and I couldn't tell if she was crying or not. "We can still celebrate today -- We're still friends, right?" I asked desperately.</p><p>"Yes, Edward, I just--I have plans -- I have to go," she said, her voice quivering. She carefully took her wrist out of my hand, and ran down the sidewalk, the balloons trailing behind her.</p><p>"Giselle!" I shouted, but it was too late. She was gone. I couldn't tell if it was rain or tears running down my cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello!!! i'm back! i had a very intense emotions block for a couple of weeks (go check out my rant book lol) but i'm back in full swing!!! sorry for the wait, but here is a long chapter for you.</p><p>so. this chapter was kind of intense. but a big thank you to Burning_Lip2000 for the Edward idea!! Meg is having conflicting feelings about Hercules, and she and Adam have had a harrowed past. and also how do you feel about her dad? it's quite a task she's been set up with, one that could seriously mess with her and Hercules. how do you think that will play out?</p><p>Edward is gay! show of hands, who knew?? even though i've barely written about him (lol). but what will happen to giselle?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite movie and/or book? (idk i'm running out of ideas lmao)</p><p>My Answer: My favorite movie is definitely her. it's so so good, so so sad and incredibly beautiful. i recommend it to all of you. as for my favorite book, i'm not exactly sure. i mostly read fantasy/ya fiction, but i want to get more into (murder) mysteries and more insightful, life thought novels, so if you know any, please recommend some!!</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MULAN</p><p>I had finally gotten much, much better. My ribs barely hurt anymore, and I was able to do most of my schoolwork on my own and leave school at the regular time. Sadly, that meant Giselle spent less time with me. Kida was giving me the cold shoulder, still angry about the fight we had had earlier about her.</p><p>Today, after school, Kida and Pocahontas were getting to leave. "Bye, guys," Poca said, grabbing her vegan suede bag and walking out the door. John, her boyfriend, was waiting outside.</p><p>"Are you bringing an umbrella? It's pouring out there," I asked, glancing at the rain smacking onto the window.</p><p>Pocahontas stared at me as if I were crazy. "Are you kidding? I love the rain!"</p><p>I laughed and apologized. We said goodbye to her, and then Kida put their half-shaved hair into a ponytail. They made sure their dance bag was packed and was about the leave, tugging on a hoodie.</p><p>But before their toe left the threshold, I said, "Wait!" They stopped in the doorway and turned slightly. I took a breath. Kida sighed and turned all the way around, facing me and folding their arms. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. About the fight," I told them quietly, looking down at my hands. They were small, and I had bitten my nails away, a habit my mom always ridiculed me for back home. "You're right. I shouldn't be going after Giselle. She's probably straight and she's in love anyway. So I'm sorry."</p><p>I looked up at my friend. They shrugged. "Okay. Apology accepted. I've got to go," they said quickly, giving me a small smile and going to close the door behind them.</p><p>"Wait!" I said again, standing up quickly. "Can...Can we talk?"</p><p>Kida turned back around. "About what?"</p><p>I felt nerves churning in my stomach. It was awkward. But I knew I could trust Kida. I had to. "Um....When did you figure out you wanted to go by them pronouns?" I asked shyly, licking my lips and glancing up at them.</p><p>Ever since I had come home from the hospital with the compression bandage, I had been thinking about it. The way it made me feel, the way it made me look. I had even put it on for school a couple days.</p><p>Kida grinned a bit and walked over to join me on my bed. "In ninth grade. I was sort of tired and uncomfortable with being labeled as a girl. It sort of confined me, I felt sort of trapped. Why are you so interested?"</p><p>I fiddled with my blanket. "You know that compression bandage I came home in?"</p><p>"The one you've been wearing to school, yeah," they said shortly.</p><p>I looked at Kida with wide eyes. "You knew?"</p><p>They shrugged. "Of course. You're a very bad at hiding things. Plus, I thought it looked cool."</p><p>I beamed. "Really?"</p><p>They nodded, laughing. "You think you're gender-fluid or non binary or something?"</p><p>I shook my head. "I don't know. It's just really...confusing. Because, the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel as a girl, you know?"</p><p>Kida nodded. "Well, maybe you can try going by they...or maybe even he? For a day or two? See how you like it. You just have to experiment. I have some actual chest binders you can borrow, if you want."</p><p>I sat up, grinning. "Really?"</p><p>"Sure. They're on the shelf in my closet. Plus, your clothes are pretty masculine already. I can even cut your hair sometime if you want," they offered, standing up again and hauling the bag on their shoulder.</p><p>"Thank you, Kida. Thank you so much."</p><p>"No problem. But I've got to go, okay? I won't be back until seven," they said, walking out the door.</p><p>"Okay! Bye!" I said, closing the door. I turned and punched the air excitedly, running to Kida's closet. I jumped to pull out a tank top looking piece of clothing. I tugged off my black shirt and struggled into the binder, trying not to twist my ribs too much.</p><p>I finally got it on and stepped in front of the mirror, admiring the flatness of my chest. I put my shirt back on, and then I looked at myself again. I looked like a boy, but...my hair. My black hair went down to my waist. I tied it up in a bun, but then it just looked like I was a lazy tomboy. Still a girl. I can even cut your hair, Kida had said.</p><p>I inhaled and glanced over at my desk, where in my supplies mug stood a pair of scissors. Out of some odd impulse, I walked over and took them from the cup. I returned in front of the mirror, my hands shaking. What am I doing? But it felt right.</p><p>I put my long, black hair --something my mom took great pride in-- into two ponytails, the elastics a little longer than chin-length. Taking a deep breath, I opened the scissors, and taking one last look at my long hair, I chopped off one side. I smiled as I took out that elastic. I cut off the other one and suddenly--I had short hair.</p><p>I began to laugh at myself, staring at the two ponytails of my hair on the ground. I pulled it into a low, small bun, and admired myself in the mirror. I didn't stop smiling, and was about to reach for a hat when my phone began to ring. I jumped.</p><p>My mom wanted to FaceTime. If I didn't answer, I would get ten more calls. But she couldn't see my hair! The ringing persisted, and I sucked it up and answered, making sure I only showed my eyes and up. "你好, Mama," I said, saying hello in Chinese.</p><p>"Mulan!" she squealed, as if she hadn't been the one to call me.</p><p>"How are you, my flower?"</p><p>"I'm great, Mom, but listen, I have to go, okay? I'll call you later?" I said hurriedly, trying to leave.</p><p>"Oh, okay. I want to talk to you! Call after!" she said, smiling widely and waving. "Love you, my girl!"</p><p>I grimaced a bit, but she had already hung up. I began to relax again, looking at my hair again.</p><p>Knock knock knock! I jumped again, and walked over to the door, hurriedly taking my hair out of its bun. I opened it, prepared to rush out a hurried explanation as to why I looked like a guy. But there stood Giselle, her face streaming with tears. Her hair and her clothes were dripping. "Gisel-?" I started, confused, but she ran into my arms, sobbing into my chest. She was even shorter than me, and I stood at 5'4", so I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her as she cried loudly. "What's the matter?" I asked, closing the door.</p><p>"Edward," she eventually choked out, clutching onto my soaked shirt. As much as I hate to admit it, my heart lifted a little bit.</p><p>"Did he break up with you?" I asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in my voice.</p><p>She continued to weep. "He's g-gay!"</p><p>I stood there stunned. It wasn't a shock to me that he was gay. Edward was one of the most flamboyant, flashy people I knew. One day he full on did a grand jete into the cafeteria and got up on a table and sang a Britney Spears song. I was just surprised that Giselle was surprised. Oh, no, was her gaydar that bad?</p><p>"Oh...oh no. Um, is this a surprise to you?" I asked, perhaps a little inappropriately as I held her away for a second, staring into her tear stained face.</p><p>She looked hurt. "Does everyone know? Oh, no, I guess I am the most oblivious and stupid person in the world," she sobbed, her lip quivering and burying herself into my shoulder again. I was petrified, but I patted her ginger hair.</p><p>"No, you're not stupid, Giselle," I said softly. "Come in. Sit down."</p><p>I guided her to sit on my bed. She was a flustered, crying mess still. I offered her a tissue, she grabbed the whole box. "Do you want some ice cream? That's what I eat when I go through bad times, so we've got a lot of it," I offered, walking over to our fridge.</p><p>Giselle sniffled, wiping her nose. "I'm vegan," she said quietly.</p><p>"Oh! Oh, right, of course. Pocahontas, my roommate, is vegan too. We have.... um....celery?" I said awkwardly, peering into the fridge of vegetables. I looked back at her and she nodded. I took out the celery and handed some to her. She mumbled a small thank you and I sat down next to her, our legs touching. Giselle was wearing a short lavender  skirt, and she had a white flower behind her ear. I had barely noticed the abandoned half-empty bouquet and the pink balloons still sitting by the door, so I went out to fetch them and quickly place them inside my dorm, but it seemed to make her more upset.</p><p>We sat there for a while. She cried a bit more, and unknowingly I had taken her hand and was rubbing my thumb comfortingly along the back of her palm. Soon, she calmed down a bit, and there was a whole pile of used tissues on the floor, and a tear stain on my shirt. My bed sheets were wet due to her rain-soaked clothing. She hadn't realized my short hair or chest binder yet. She stared forlornly around the room, still sniffing. "Sorry. I've made quite a mess."</p><p>"No, no, it's okay. I'm glad you came here," I told her sincerely, patting her knee.</p><p>She used another tissue and said, "I'm sorry I'm being so intrusive, it's just that...Well, I don't think my roommates really like me."</p><p>"Merida and Meg?" I asked, freezing. They have, in fact, complained to me about Giselle before. "No, they do like you. You're just very...different."</p><p>She shook her head. "Everyone thinks I'm annoying."</p><p>"Giselle, you're not annoying to me," I told her firmly, her watery eyes looking up to mine.</p><p>She gave a small smile. "Thanks, Mulan. For all of this." And she laid her head down gingerly on my lap, her beautiful amber hair splaying out. Even with red eyes and some runny mascara, she looked perfect. I hesitantly, tenderly began twining my fingers through her locks, brushing through them as gently as I could. <br/>I took a bracing breath. What's the worst that could happen? "You know, I had to experience this too... breaking up because of being gay, I mean."</p><p>Giselle opened her eyes and stared directly up at me with interest. "Really? Who were you dating that was gay?"</p><p>My voice froze. Wow, her gaydar really was that bad. I cleared my throat and my face heated up. "Um, actually I'm the gay one. Well, at least mostly gay."</p><p>Giselle smiled. "Really? Oh, I didn't know!"</p><p>I smiled too, staring into her big sparkling eyes. I didn't know how long I could keep this up. She was literally right in my lap. "Yeah..."</p><p>We stayed there for a while. It could've been hours. Maybe minutes. I played with her hair the entire time, entranced by her as she closed her eyes, a few more tears rolling off her cheeks. Eventually, she got up to go up to the bathroom, and I suggested she take a shower to feel better. </p><p>"Okay, that'll be good, I think. Thanks, Mulan. I'll go back to my dorm after —"</p><p>"No!" I interrupted, maybe too quickly. I coughed. "Um, no, it's okay. Come back here. My roommates won't be back until seven, probably later. Besides, I think we both need the company."</p><p>She still looked hesitant. "I don't want to be a bother—"</p><p>"No, you're not a bother, Giselle. Like, at all," I assured her hurriedly. I grabbed some sweatpants and a sweatshirt and handed them to her to change into. "Please."</p><p>She smiled. "Thank you." She took my shampoo and shower supplies and my clothes out the door.</p><p>I quickly changed the sheets on my bed to get rid of the water, and threw away some stuff, organized my desk. I took off the chest binder.</p><p>She returned with damp hair, in my Calvin Klein sweatpants and grey sweatshirt. I almost fainted on the spot. Every day, Giselle looked perfectly put together—hair blow dried, flowy skirts and tops, some natural makeup, a matching handbag and pair of shoes. But this...this was somehow even better. The clothes were too big on her, and the legs and arms flopped around. Her hair was in a messy, bumping bun and her face was fresh. She looked sleepy, and...human. Perfectly imperfect.</p><p>I had put one of her favorite movies, Sixteen Candles. The moment I opened the door, she slowly, gently wrapped her tiny arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I hugged her back, placing my chin on her head and smiling.</p><p>She pulled away, her hands still on my waist. My heart began beating fast. Her eyes were searching mine, deeply, and my breath caught. I was surely going to faint, right there.</p><p>And then she kissed me. She rose up on her tiptoes and brought her hands behind my neck, pulling my lips to hers. My eyes widened, but then I pulled her closer to me, smiling into the kiss. I was floating.</p><p>But she eventually pulled away. I looked down at her, a dreamy look still on my face. "Sorry," she said timidly, looking down and fiddling with the too-long sleeves.</p><p>"What? What are you sorry for?" I asked, baffled and holding her hand.</p><p>She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "That was okay?"</p><p>"Yes—yes, of course," I replied immediately, trying to portray as much sincerity into my eyes as possible.</p><p>She let out a stressed breath, giving a tired smile and glancing down at our hands. She laughed a little. "Okay. Okay, good. I guess I'm just all mixed up, I..."</p><p>She walked over to the bed, pulling me with her. I sat, leaning against the headboard. She remained standing, studying me. "You cut your hair."</p><p>I had almost forgotten. I was still up in the clouds. "Oh! Oh, yeah," I said, my hand flying up to it. "I just wanted, um... a change."</p><p>Giselle sat too, lightly tracing the jagged edges of my thin hair. "I like it," she said quietly.</p><p>I lost my breath again. "Thanks," I replied, barely a whisper.</p><p>We sat there for a while, just staring at each other. Eventually, she excitedly realized what movie was playing, and she leaned back into me, basically in my lap. I wrapped my arms around her small form. My heart was soaring, and I didn't pay any attention to the movie. Her hair smelled like strawberries.</p><p>Giselle Andalasia fell asleep in my arms. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: IT'S HERE!!! Miselle (idk??? someone please come up with a better ship name, thanks) has officially begun!!!! literally this chapter gave me strong gay butterflies in my stomach just writing it. the gay is strong in this chapter, and isn't that the best kind of chapter?? i dont know if i did them justice, but i tried. how did you like this chapter?? what do you think will happen in the future?? sorry it's kinda short, only one POV, but this weekend was crazy. and i don't know if there will be any long updates for this whole month, it's absolutely insane!!! but i'll try my best, just for you my loves!!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Have you ever been in a relationship? If so, how was it? How long did it last?</p><p>My Answer: haha no, and i don't really want one. i'm perfectly fine being single. if i find The One, great. if i don't, great!</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>JACK</p><p>"Good morning, sweetheart," I said, getting up from my chair in the lobby and putting my phone away.</p><p>Elsa smiled, rosy cheeked. She looked beautiful, bright eyed and glowing. She had just walked back from the coffee shop, and judging by the swift breeze I got from the open door, it had been a cold journey. Elsa gave me a cheerful kiss, and I smiled into it, feeling my heart melt. She broke away a bit and responded softly. "Hi."</p><p>I chuckled. She was unusually merry this morning. "Wow, did Meg put something special in your hot chocolate this morning?" I asked jokingly, still holding her waist with my free hand. The other was behind my back, holding a gift for her.</p><p>She shook her head, laughing. "No. I'm just glad to see you."</p><p>I kissed her nose, saying, "I'm glad to see you too. I have a present for you."</p><p>Elsa perked up even more. "Really? Why?"</p><p>I shook my head and chuckled again. "It happens to be our ten month anniversary."</p><p>Elsa's eyes widened and she gasped. "Jack! I...I completely forgot. You know I'm not one for those cheesy couple things—"</p><p>"I know," I interrupted, holding a hand out to slow her down. "So that's why I always remember." I took out the box from behind my back and handed it to her.</p><p>"Chocolate!" she immediately exclaimed, beaming and giving a little hop. "Thank you, Jack!" She took it and flung her arms around me. When she pulled away, she said sternly, "Why would you do this? You know I'll eat it all before first period."</p><p>"So I'll help you eat it." She giggled and smacked me lightly, before grabbing my hand and leading me to the cafeteria.</p><p>I picked up a cup of oatmeal while Elsa waited for me. She wasn't one to eat in the mornings. I knew mornings made her nervous, with her social anxiety and all. I still don't really understand her mind, but it pains me to see her so uneasy all the time. Even as she stood there, waiting from a couple feet away as I sprinkled my sugar on my breakfast, she looked nervous. Her blue eyes darted everywhere. She was bouncing her knee, her hands clasped together. She shrugged her shoulders in an effort to make herself look smaller as people rushed around her in a flurry to get the good waffles before they ran out. Tarzan accidentally bumped into Elsa's shoulder, and she squeaked a small, flustered "sorry!" I quickly returned to her side, my tray in one hand and hers in my other. Hers was cold too.</p><p>"You okay?" I asked her in a quiet, gentle voice. She smiled a bit and nodded gratefully, taking a deep breath.</p><p>We walked to some open seats and I began to eat quickly. Elsa took a bite of the chocolates.</p><p>Some red hair caught my eye, and from across the cafeteria I could see Anna, arm and arm with Kristoff, who was laughing. "So, Anna and Kristoff are official?" I asked her, and she glanced over her shoulder at them.</p><p>"I guess."</p><p>"Are you mad about it?"</p><p>Elsa sighed and fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers. "Not anymore. Kristoff does seem like a nice guy, and even if she does get hurt, maybe it's for her own good. To learn a lesson. So I can't force anything, you know?"</p><p>I nodded, taking a sip of the coffee I had picked up. Elsa grimaced. She hated the cafeteria coffee.</p><p>"Oh, guess what!" I said excitedly, putting down the mug.</p><p>"What?" she asked, leaning on her palms and grinning.</p><p>"My—"</p><p>I was suddenly interrupted. "Hey, Elsa," someone said from behind me. I turned around and looked up. Hans stood there, tray in hand, smiling at my girlfriend. She looked unbelievably uncomfortable.</p><p>"Uh, hi Hans," she replied quietly, tapping her fingers nervously on her water bottle.</p><p>"How are you?" Hans persisted.</p><p>"Fine. You?"</p><p>"I'm good. I was wondering if you'd maybe want to go with me to the library after school? I'm having trouble in Biology, and I know you have an A in it. Or maybe I could meet you when you go to the Black Cauldron?" he asked eagerly. I glanced at his breakfast: Jell-o and sugary cereal. I pinched my nose in disgust. Who eats Jell-o for breakfast, much less the green  kind?</p><p>Elsa looked lost, so I jumped in. "Actually, we have a date after school," I said, glaring up at him. "It's our tenth anniversary."</p><p>He glanced down at me with disdain, as if he hadn't realized I was there. "Oh. Hi Jack. Well then.  See you in class, Elsa?" he said, not smiling at me. She gave a small nod and off he went, going to an empty seat uncomfortably close to ours.</p><p>Elsa let out a large breath, taking a hasty bite of my oatmeal and then almost gagging. "That is the sugar-iest thing I've ever tasted," she gasped, drinking some water.</p><p>I laughed. "How else is it going to taste not like mush?" Elsa giggled, but I suddenly grew serious. I could see Hans watching us out of the corner of his eye. "Is he bothering you?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Hans. You seemed really uncomfortable," I said, leaning forward so that I was almost whispering.</p><p>"Oh," Elsa replied, shifting in her chair and lowering her eyes. "Jack, I'm uncomfortable with everybody. Except you, Anna, and Anya."</p><p>"I know, but he just seemed...weird," I told her, concerned.</p><p>Elsa sighed. "It's okay, Jack. I'm trying my best to ignore him, okay? He'll go away eventually."'</p><p>I sat back in my chair, nodding but still not convinced. Elsa was tugging at her cardigan. "Okay. Tell me if he doesn't, though."</p><p>She smiled and touched my arm. "Jack, I'm fine."</p><p>I finished my breakfast and put the tray in the dish carousel, then I offered Elsa my arm and we walked out of the cafeteria. </p><p>ELSA</p><p>In Biology class, Hans sat right next to me. "Beat it, Isles," Anya said firmly, without looking up from her notebook.</p><p>"Woah, woah, woah. I mean no harm," he said, laughing and holding out his hands. "Elsa and I are friends!"</p><p>"Well, no--" I began, not looking at him.</p><p>"Elsa does not like you, Hans," Dmitri told him, leaning over Anya.</p><p>"Oh, what do you know, Dima," Hans sneered, mocking Dmitri's nickname. Dmitri snarled and began to stand, but Ms. Ursula clapped and began the lesson. Hans remained next to me, and I shot a frightened yet thankful glance to my friends.</p><p>Hans kept glancing over at me the entire class, staying completely still but eying my every move. When the bell rang, I felt my phone get a text so I pulled it out as everyone stood. It was Anna, suggesting a hangout session after school. I began texting back, but I felt eyes on me. I looked up behind me and there was Hans, reading my text messages with my sister over my shoulder.</p><p>"What are you doing?" I asked quickly, shutting the phone off and standing up.</p><p>He chuckled. "Just curious. Let me walk you to your math class."</p><p>I cringed. How did he know I was going to math? "No, thanks."</p><p>"Aw, come on, Elsa. I'm being a gentleman, here." I refrained from scoffing as I set off at a quick pace toward Mr. Skellington's classroom. Hans followed close behind. I felt myself sweating, but then I spotted a familiar grey ponytail bouncing through the crowd. I almost sighed in relief.</p><p>"Judy!" I cried out, raising my hand.</p><p>I saw her perk up and turn, peering through the shoulders. She grinned. "Elsa!" She pushed through and joined me by my side.</p><p>"Hi," I said in relief. I looked back at Hans. "I have Judy to escort me now. Thanks."</p><p>He frowned but then disappeared in the opposite direction, alone. I let out a breath. "Thanks, J," I said as we began walking again.</p><p>"For what?" she asked, confused.</p><p>"Hans was being a real creep," I told her in a low voice, bending down since she only came up to my chest.</p><p>She wrinkled her nose and was about to reply when I heard a guy yell, "Hopps!" She whipped around, beaming. Nick Wilde appeared next to her.</p><p>"Oh, hello, Mrs. Frost," he said, smirking at me and tipping his head.</p><p>"Oh, that's Jack's --" I began to correct him, my cheeks flushing.</p><p>"Guess what, Hopps!" Nick said excitedly to Judy. "I let someone cut in front of me in line this morning!"</p><p>Judy cheered and jumped up and down, giving Nick an enthusiastic high five. I remained completely confused. "I've got to get to history, I'm never tardy anymore!" Nick said, stealing away and saluting Judy with two fingers.</p><p>She kept smiling, and I looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and a grin. Finally, I said, "So what was that about?"</p><p>She snapped out of her trance, glancing up at me. "Oh! You remember that time I caught him stealing from the vending machine, right? And then I caught him selling vending machine stuff for way more money! And so obviously that's not allowed so I called him out on it, but he didn't want me reporting him because he was on his second strike. He told me that he would stop, but obviously I couldn't believe him, so I'm giving him lessons on how to be a better citizen of Walt E. Disney High!"</p><p>I repressed my laughter and smiled at her. "That's great, Judy." And we entered our math classroom.</p><p>•••</p><p>I had compromised to sit with Anna at lunch instead of after school, since Jack sheepishly admitted that we did in fact have a date. It was supposed to be a surprise, but he had to sacrifice the information in order to save me from Hans. So Jack and I grabbed some pad thai noodles and some lemonade from the cafeteria and joined Anna at her and her friends' table.</p><p>"Hey, Els!" she said as I sat down between her and Jack, across from Moana who waved cheerfully. Rapunzel, Kristoff, and Ariel greeted us as well. "Happy anniversary!"</p><p>I groaned. How was it that my own sister was able to remember my anniversary but I couldn't? "Thanks," Jack and I said in unison, and Jack grabbed my hand.</p><p>Ariel squealed. "It's your anniversary?"</p><p>We nodded, smiling. "Are you doing anything special?" Punz asked.</p><p>"Jack gave me chocolates," I replied, and Anna gasped. I laughed and handed her one.</p><p>"And we have something else happening after school, but sh! It's a surprise," Jack told them exuberantly, putting a finger to his lips.</p><p>"Awwwww," crooned Ariel, Anna, and Punz. I smiled and laid my head on Jack's shoulder.</p><p>"So, Elsa, are you going to be in the talent show?" Moana asked, popping a piece of pineapple in her mouth.</p><p>I laughed. "Are you kidding me? Of course not! That sounds terrifying." I shuddered at the thought of getting up on a stage in front of the whole school, when I could barely even hold a private conversation. "Besides," I continued, "I don't even have a talent."</p><p>Everyone at the table laughed in disbelief. "You know that is not true," Jack told me firmly as I took a bite of noodles. I gave him a side eye, as if to challenge him. "Oh, please. Your singing voice is angelic, my love," he said, smiling at me with heart eyes.</p><p>I blushed and rolled my eyes, looking down. I've only sung in front of Jack and Anna, and even then I've never fully let it go in front of anyone.</p><p>Anna smirked. "Yeah. Plus, you sorta have ice powers that are pretty cool. Ha! Pun not intended."</p><p>I felt my stomach drop. "Anna!" I hissed, glancing around nervously. "No one's  supposed to know that!"</p><p>Anna gave a sheepish smile to me. "They kind of already know," she said, embarrassed and looking at Moana, Rapunzel, and Ariel who gave small smiles.</p><p>"Anna!" I cried. She had agreed to keep my powers a secret between us, my parents, and Jack. Principal Mickey also knew, because we had to agree to a contract that they were allowed to somehow disable our powers while we were on campus, for student safety.</p><p>"Sorry," my sister said, cringing. "It just kind of came up."</p><p>I shook my head at her, knowing that I should've expected this. At least I knew I could trust these girls. "But you should display your powers at the fashion show! It could kind of be a cry for power freedom! There are so many other students with powers that want to be able to use them on campus, and maybe this can raise awareness and allow that!" Anna said enthusiastically, standing up and raising a fist. Some people shot looks our way, and she giggled awkwardly and sat down. "No but really," she said, more quietly this time.</p><p>"That would be pretty cool," Jack said, Ariel nodding vigorously.</p><p>"Wait, who out of this whole school has powers? We could make a list and see if we can recruit them. Get them on your side to persuade Mickey," Rapunzel suggested, pulling out a piece of paper and a purple pen. We began throwing out names.</p><p>Elsa <br/>Jack <br/>Violet<br/>Dash<br/>All the fairies<br/>Atlantica sisters <br/>Punz<br/>Vanessa<br/>Peter<br/>Moana</p><p>"Guys, I am not going to ask Mickey to let me perform my powers in a talent show. And then I am not going to be in the talent show," I said, unwavering and feeling my neck get warm. My hands began to quiver, and Jack grabbed them and brought them up to his lips, giving me a look through his blue eyes, one that was asking me if I was okay. I nodded.</p><p>"Well...maybe everyone can show off their powers?" Anna said slowly. "Then you wouldn't be the only one."</p><p>I thought for a moment. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad? I haven't used my powers for... forever. Ever since our parents died and we were taken in by our aunt and uncle, I had refused to let my powers show. It would feel good to let them free. But I don't know if I could control them. What if I hurt someone? What if people laughed at me? What if I was called a freak? What if I slipped on stage?</p><p>"The fairies could all show off their talents, I'm positive they would do it," Anna was saying, Rapunzel nodding excitedly and writing something on a pink sheet of paper.</p><p>"I was going to do a speed painting, but maybe I'll show off my hair instead!" she said.</p><p>Moana looked at her quizzically. "What? Your hair has powers?"</p><p>Rapunzel blushed and subconsciously twirled a golden lock of hair that had fallen out of her gigantic braid. "Yeah. It...it glows when I sing. And it also heals and reverses aging."</p><p>Moana's jaw dropped. "What? That's insane!"</p><p>We giggled and Moana slowly got over it as we continued talking. "Come on, Els. It would be so cool!" Ariel pleaded, waving her apple around. Everyone else shouted their agreement.</p><p>"I made a sign up sheet!" Punz said, waving around the piece of paper. It read: Have magic powers? Want to be able to use them on campus? Learn how to use them in life? Then sign up here!</p><p>I closed my eyes, then opened them, staring into five pairs of pleading eyes. I sighed. "I'll think about it."</p><p>Everyone cheered and I rolled my eyes.</p><p>What had I just done?</p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>I waited outside of Elsa's last class, history, shouldering my heavy backpack. She walked out quickly, side by side with Jasmine who was holding hands with Aladdin, trying to be discreet. "Hey Jack," she said, looking relieved and kissing me. When we broke apart, I examined her freckles, her eyes, I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She smiled, and her nose crinkled up a little bit.</p><p>"What?" she asked, laughing  and blushing.</p><p>"You're just... gorgeous," I said breathlessly, cupping her cheek in my hand. She giggled and put her hand over mine.</p><p>"Thank you. I love you."</p><p>I smiled. "I love you too." I placed a kiss on her forehead, and then I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the exit of the school.</p><p>"Where are we going?" she asked, frantic as I dodged through people.</p><p>"We have a date, remember?" I called back to her, and burst out of the school and into the sunlight. The air was brisk, and Elsa grinned as I pulled her down the sidewalk, away from the dorm building. She laughed and we continued running, my bag slamming against my back.</p><p>"I have practice today!" she yelled after me, talking about figure skating.</p><p>"It's our anniversary!" I shouted back, laughing. She laughed too and we continued running.</p><p>We made our way out of town, nearing a dense forest that was just outside of school campus. The leaves were turning brown already, and the wind crinkled them, dead twigs and grass crunching underneath our feet.</p><p>We stopped running, and slowed to a walk, side by side. As we got closer to the spot, I said to Elsa, "Close your eyes."</p><p>She gave me a wary look but closed her eyes. I carefully led her through the trees until we came to a clearing. "Okay. Now open them," I said to her, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. There was a large pond in the center of the clearing, surrounded by dangling fairy lights strung through the trees</p><p>"Oh, Jack, this is gorgeous!" she said, beaming. I walked toward the pond and turned to face her. </p><p>"Now, I know you haven't used your powers in...a really long time. And I know how it feels for them to be trapped in you. So I thought you could try them here and we could go ice skating... just like our first date," I added, fondly remembering the day we stole away to a pond like this one, freezing it over and falling in love. I took her cold hand and pulled her close to me.</p><p>She looked scared. "Jack, I don't know..." she said uncertainly, now eyeing the pond with apprehension.</p><p>"Hey, it'll be okay. It's just me. I'll help you," I told her, and then I stole away between some trees. There, blending in perfectly, lay my staff, the thing that allowed me to use my powers. I picked it up, and a familiar sensation of ice washed over me. I smiled.</p><p>As I walked back to Elsa, her eyes widened. "Jack, I thought Mickey took your staff?"</p><p>I smirked. "I have my ways of getting it back," I told her, thinking back at when I broke into his office this semester. I was surprised he hadn't caught me. I just have to return it before winter break.</p><p>"Jack—"" Elsa began disapprovingly.</p><p>"Elsa," I mocked back, silencing her.</p><p>Her eyes twinkled a bit, and she stepped toward me. "Okay," she breathed, looking nervous.</p><p>"Okay, go to the opposite end of the pond," I told her,  moving to one side. She did so, shaking out her hands and taking deep breaths. She took a stance, pushing out her hands, and I followed suit.</p><p>"Ready?" I asked. She gave a determined nod and stared down the pond. "One...two...three!" I pointed my staff at the water, not putting too much force into it. A familiar sensation flooded through me, turning my veins to ice as it moved through my arms, my hands, my fingers.</p><p>The pond began to freeze over, the surface crackling and frosty mist billowing from it. I stopped once my side had frozen halfway over, and Elsa did so as well, looking concentrated but elated. <br/>She smiled and brushed a piece of hair away, straightening up and giving a little hop. "I did it!" she cried, laughing and running over to me to jump into my arms.</p><p>"You did!" I replied, smiling and hugging her. "And look—no one got hurt." She grinned even wider. She always had a fear of hurting someone with her powers after she had accidentally hit Anna when they were younger.</p><p>"No one got hurt," she repeated quietly, surveying the now frozen pond.</p><p>I walked over to my backpack. "Wanna skate?" I pulled out two pairs of ice skates.</p><p>She grinned but said, "Jack, I have rehearsal in an hour and a half." She did figure skating every day after school. She was fantastic at it, it was one of her favorite passions.</p><p>But today I didn't want her to go. "Aw, come on, Els. It's our anniversary! Plus, you can just practice your routine right now!"<br/>She laughed. "All right. I'll stay for an hour. Just for you." I gave her a kiss and thanked her, and then we put on our skates.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hey friends!! i'm back! sorry about the weird updating schedule, the weekends have been super busy. but how'd you like this chapter? do you ship jelsa? i personally don't really, i used to though. also, do you guys like this kind of fluffy relationship chapter or do you want to get back to the gritty, dramatic stuff?</p><p>hans is being a real creep, don't you think? and what do you think will happen in the talent show? will students get to show off their powers? will things go horribly wrong?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: If you had magical powers, what would they be?</p><p>My Answer: maybe mind reading or shapeshifting? that's just off the top of my head, but like shapeshifting you can literally be ANYTHING. dragon, fair maiden, prettier version of yourself, you name it!!</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MERIDA</p><p>Mulan burst into my room, beaming like a madman. "Merida!" she cried, running toward me and tackling me in a hug. I grimaced and wiggled my way out of her grasp.</p><p>"What is it, ya weirdo?" I asked, giving her an annoyed look for hugging me. I wasn't much of a touchy person.</p><p>"Guess," Mulan told me, bouncing on her toes and her eyes shining.</p><p>I studied her. "You cut your hair," I noticed.</p><p>She looked confused for a second before remembering and saying, "Oh, yeah, I did. But guess what else!"</p><p>I glared at her. I really wasn't in the mood to play this game, I had to leave. "You got a lovely new makeup pallet," I deadpanned, knowing full well that Mulan hated makeup. She rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose.</p><p>"No. You're being a real pain," Mulan told me, walking over to sit on Meg's bed. "Yesterday Giselle broke up with Edward."</p><p>"Where was she last night?" I asked, packing an apple in my bag. Mulan smiled even more. I gave her a wary look. "What happened, Mulan?"</p><p>"She came running to me! She immediately went to my dorm and I comforted her, and then she kissed me! Merida, she kissed me! And then she slept over! She left early in the morning —"</p><p>"Yeah, and woke me up," I muttered.</p><p>"And Kida and Pocahontas left before I woke up, so I don't know what they think. But I had to tell someone. Giselle kissed me!" she squealed, grabbing her short hair and falling back on the black bed.</p><p>I looked at her, an unconvinced look on my face. "Well, Mulan... Now look, Ay don't know much about relationships. The only one Ay've been in is with you, and we both know that wasn't for me. But it sounds like to me that Giselle is really... emotionally vulnerable right now. She might have just been using ye as a rebound, of sorts—" </p><p>"What? But she turned to me, without a thought," Mulan said defensively, sitting up and staring at me with hurt. "That has to mean something, doesn't it?"</p><p>"That yer one of the only people that likes her?" I suggested, snorting at myself.</p><p>Mulan threw one of Meg's pillows at my face, which I barely caught. "You're being really mean today," she said grumpily.</p><p>"Ay'm just tryin' to tell ye the truth. And for yer information Ay was just leavin' before ye rudely interrupted me," I told her snootily, grabbing my quiver and my engraved bow. Mulan eyes widened.</p><p>"What are you doing?" she asked.</p><p>"Ay'm gonna be in the talent show," I told her triumphantly, tilting up my chin.</p><p>"With... with your bow and arrows?"</p><p>I nodded, grinning. "Ay'm gonna shoot me some targets, show those bastards what I can do."</p><p>"Merida, I don't think that's such a good—"</p><p>There was a hesitant knock on the door, and I stuck my tongue out at Mulan before going to answer it. </p><p> </p><p>HICCUP</p><p>I took a deep breath and raised my fist, hesitantly knocking on her door three times. It was immediately pulled open with force, making me jump a bit. But there Merida stood, her wild orange hair almost covering her entire face. Her eyes brightened and she moved a few strands from them. "Hiccup!" she said happily, grinning.</p><p>"Hey," I said cautiously, holding up the frappuccino I had brought. "Um, I brought you a frappuccino. Java chip. Your favorite."</p><p>"Thank you, Hiccup!" she said enthusiastically, taking it and engulfing me in a hug.</p><p>"O-of course," I was able to muster out, Merida being stronger than I anticipated.</p><p>When she released me, she looked back into her dorm, where Mulan was sitting on a bed with her arms crossed. "Mulan was just leaving," Merida said in a tone of warning, giving her friend a glare. Mulan  rolled her eyes and got up, smiling at me and I moved aside to let her pass.</p><p>"Ay was actually just leaving, Ay was gonna go to the forest to practice my shooting," she explained, hoisting up her bow and arrows.</p><p>"I-Is that allowed?" I stammered, eyeing the weapons with caution. Merida shrugged, taking a sip of the drink.</p><p>"Wanna come?" she asked, grinning.</p><p>"Sure." She closed the door and we set off down the hall.</p><p>"So, Ay haven't seen ye since that football game. Is everythin' all right?" she asked with concern, surveying me. I uncomfortably realized that I was much shorter than her.</p><p>I cleared my throat, remembering that day—the day I almost asked her out. "Yeah, it was just kind of a crazy day. I've been, uh, busy."</p><p>Merida nodded, looking unconvinced, and we continued down to the lobby and out of the dorm building. "So, where exactly are we going?" I asked as she led me off the sidewalk, walking on top of the perfectly manicured grass that I had a feeling we were not supposed to walk on.</p><p>"The forest," she replied nonchalantly, nodding at the dark woods ahead of us.</p><p>I balked, stopping in my tracks with wide eyes. "The forest? Merida, that's really dangerous," I told her with worry.</p><p>She laughed at me, then shrugged. "Hiccup, it's fine. Ay've been in there loads of times, it's perfectly safe," Merida reassured me, grinning.</p><p>I was still unconvinced, but I slowly joined her by her side, and we began walking again. My stomach was flipping in knots, but I didn't know if it was because of the looming forest ahead or the fact that I was so close to Merida, I could practically feel the heat radiating off of her.</p><p>Suddenly, I felt my fingers accidentally brush against Merida's hand. She jumped, giving me a quizzical look and chuckling uncertainly. "What was that for?"</p><p>My throat tightened. "Sorry. I guess I'm just...nervous," I apologized.</p><p>She smiled at me. "Wow. You are a wuss."</p><p>I gasped and punched her shoulder hard, but she only laughed it off, barely budging. "Fine, fine, if ye truly are scared Ay'll hold yer hand... baby," she added quickly, chortling to herself.</p><p>I rolled my eyes playfully, but then her hand grabbed mine, and I couldn't breathe. Trying to diffuse the tension, I glanced up and commented, "Looks like it might rain." And it did. Dark clouds doused the sky, looking threatening. "Are you sure you want to go?"</p><p>She nodded, and we eventually made our way into the woods. The trees surrounded us on all sides, closing us in and getting denser and darker as we went deeper and deeper. Merida seemed to know where she was going, however, and we arrived at a clearing. I noticed various targets hung up on trees, some seeming impossible to strike. "Here we are," she said happily, letting go of my hand. It was now cold and...sweaty.</p><p>Merida threw down her bag and glanced at me with a sly look. I hastily sat on a moss-covered log. "Ready to be amazed?" she asked, grabbing a bow from her quiver. She strung it in her bow and drew it up, a new look of concentration taking over her eyes. She shot, and the arrow flew at lightning speed, hitting the bullseye of the furthest target.</p><p>My mouth fell open. "How...how did you do that?" I asked in wonder, my eyes flickering between her and the arrow. Merida's eyes were now alight with fiery pride, and she was grinning.</p><p>"Want me to teach ye?" she asked, holding out the bow.</p><p>"Oh, no, no, no, I'd probably end up shooting my own eye out," I laughed nervously, shaking my head and staying seated.</p><p>"Aw, come on, you'll be fine," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. She handed me the bow and an arrow.</p><p>"All right, first put yer feet like this," she said, demonstrating the stance. She showed me how to string the arrow, using three fingers, hers dancing over mine. "Now pull the string back, so that yer fingers are below your chin and the string touches yer nose and lips."</p><p>I did so, but flinched, my arms not expecting the strength it took. "Woah," I said out of instinct.</p><p>Merida laughed. "Yeah, it takes strength. That's why I'm so buff," she joked. I pulled the string back again, lifting my elbow. She was positioned behind me, hands placed gingerly on my elbows. My stomach fluttered, and my heart was beating so hard I could barely hear her speaking. "Line the arrow up with the target. And then...relax yer fingers."</p><p>I released, and the arrow flew through the air, piercing the very edge of the target. "Woah! Did you see that?" I cried, accidentally leaving Merida's grasp. "I did it!"</p><p>She giggled. "Ya did it, Hiccup! And look, ye still have both eyes!" I laughed and suddenly went to hug her. She smelled like spices and apples. She laughed and squeezed me back.</p><p>We finally let go awkwardly, and I cleared my throat, glancing up at her. "Merida, um, there's a real reason why I haven't talked to you since the football game." Merida gave me a questioning look but prodded me to go on. I felt my cheeks burning up, asking myself why I was doing this. "Um...the truth is...I was going to ask you out that day. I really, really like you as more than a friend."</p><p>Merida's eyes widened, and she stammered. "Hiccup, I..."</p><p>My stomach dropped and I took a step back. "No, no, it's okay. You don't like me back, I get it. Um, I should probably go..." I turned and began walking through the forest, my eyes stinging.</p><p>"Hiccup, wait!" I heard Merida yell, but I began to run. Just then, rain began to pour through the trees, drenching me as I fought my way through the leaves, having no clue where I was going.</p><p>I eventually made it back out to the dorm lawn, but it was deserted except for Silvermist dancing in the rain a little while off. I looked around, trying to figure out where to go, when I spotted the diner's lights in the distance. I began towards it, sniffling. Merida doesn't like me as I like her. What have I done? She's my best friend, what if I just ruined it?</p><p>I stepped into the diner, the bright lights and loud students engulfing my senses. I walked up to the counter, trailing water in my wake. I sat on one of the stools where Wilbur Robinson was behind the counter, filling up some cups with soda. "Hey, Hiccup. Uh, need a towel?" he asked, grabbing a clean towel and throwing it to me.</p><p>I smiled, drying off my hair. "Thanks. Um, I'll have the chili cheese fries and a chocolate shake, please. And why is it so crowded?" I ordered my usual, looking around at the overcrowded diner, with chattering students piling into the seats.</p><p>"Sure thing. Today's the day that fifty percent of the money to some student council thing," Wilbur said, as I handed him back the towel and nodded. He quickly gave me a chocolate shake, with plenty of whipped cream. "So, everything all right?" he asked, studying me with concern.</p><p>"Well...I got sort of turned down by Merida today," I confided, stirring with the straw.</p><p>"Oh...oh man, I'm so sorry," Wilbur said solemnly. "I'll get you a piece of pie, on the house. Tiana made it fresh this afternoon."<br/>"Thanks, Wilbur," I said with a smile.</p><p>Wilbur returned with my fries and pie, giving me a sorry smile. He was about to say something else, but I heard the door open behind me and someone walked in, sitting at the counter a few seats away. Wilbur's eyes widened, following the person in. I turned to see who it was, and Violet Parr sat sheepishly at the counter, brushing her hair shyly from her face. "Um, I'll get back to you, Hiccup," Wilbur said absently, not tearing his eyes from her and dreamily walking over to her.</p><p>I chuckled, but it was forced. There was bashfulness, adoration in both of their eyes. I felt...jealous.</p><p>The bell on the door tinkled again, but I didn't look up. However, the person sat right next to me. They put their head down in their arms and gave a big sigh, finally prompting me to look over.</p><p>"Hey...Are you okay?" I asked softly.</p><p>The girl looked up. She had roughly cut blonde hair and was wearing a black puffy jacket with fur on the edges. "Oh, yeah, I'm okay. It's just...people suck, you know?"</p><p>I laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah, tell me about it." I paused, surveying her. "I don't think i recognize you?"</p><p>She chuckled. "Yeah, I go to Dreamworks. It's just that we don't have a good diner down there, so I come here. I'm Astrid."</p><p>"I'm Hiccup Haddock. I used to go to Dreamworks too, before I moved here," I told her, taking a bite of my food.</p><p>"You did?" I nodded. "Why did you transfer?"</p><p>I sighed. "As you said, people suck, especially there. My friend... he was expelled, so I decided to move here with him, to start over," I explained, thinking of Jack.</p><p>Wilbur returned, still looking lovestruck. "Hey, what can I get you?" he asked.</p><p>"I'll have what he's having," Astrid told him, looking at my food. Wilbur nodded and walked away.</p><p>"So is everything all right with you? You seemed kind of down," Astrid noticed, slightly  scooting her stool closer so we could hear each other over the buzz.</p><p>I sighed. "I kind of got dumped by my best friend a few minutes ago," I confided, pushing the pecans from the pie around my plate.</p><p>"Oh. I'm sorry. What are you going to do?"</p><p>I sighed again. "I honestly don't know. She's my best friend, the best thing that's happened to me since...ever. Just everything about her is amazing. And now what if I ruined everything?"</p><p>"I think...I think if you're that close to her, I think she'll understand. Don't give up just yet, you know?"<br/>I nodded. "Thanks."</p><p>Wilbur brought out Astrid's food, and we kept on talking about anything and everything, until the diner was almost completely cleared out. Rain still poured outside, and now Faline was behind the counter, wiping it up. "We close in ten minutes, guys," she said pleasantly, smiling.</p><p>"I can walk you to your building. I have an umbrella," Astrid offered as we stood and began walking to the door.</p><p>I was about to decline, but I took a second glance at the pouring rain, and said, "Yeah, that'd be great, actually."</p><p>We walked out and huddled under the umbrella, me leading the way to the Disney dorm buildings. We arrived at the doors, giggling together, and Astrid closed the umbrella as we were under a roof. "Thanks," I told her.</p><p>"Yeah, of course. Um, it was great meeting you, Hiccup."</p><p>"Yeah, thanks for making me feel a lot better. Um, hopefully I'll see you around?" I asked nervously, looking at my hands.</p><p>"Yeah! Here, put your number in," she said, holding out her phone. I typed it in hastily. "So I'll talk to you later?"</p><p>"Yeah! Bye, Astrid!" I called as she walked away. I pulled open the door and walked into the lobby of the dorm building, a feeling of happy renewal in my chest.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello my friends!! how is everyone doing? i'm doing quite well, except for the fact that i went to the beach yesterday with my friend and i got a gnarly sunburn, lol. also, happy st. patrick's day! i'm almost all irish, so it was weird that i didn't really do anything today. also, sorry this update took so long, but I've had a bunch of homework. this week has literally been insane. but I'm back!</p><p>so how did you like this chapter? how do you feel about mulan's kiss with giselle? do you think merida is right, that she was emotionally vulnerable, or does giselle really feel something? how do you feel about hiccup confessing his feelings to merida? and what about astrid, what do you think is going to happen between them? overall, who do you ship hiccup with, if anyone? what povs do you want to see next?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: When is your spring break?</p><p>My Answer: Mine is in exactly a month, which is absolutely excruciating. I'm drowning in schoolwork, and all I want is to be able to sleep in and go to the beach every day, ya feel?</p>
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<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ELSA</p><p>"You ready, Els?" Jack asked from behind me. We had gathered almost all the students in the school who had magical powers, and we were standing outside of Principal Mickey's door. All I had to do was knock.</p><p>But I couldn't. I stood there, shaking, reading his name over and over again in the gold, polished paint. "Do you think she knows how to knock?" someone whispered from the back of the group.</p><p>Jack bristled, but stayed put. My stomach twisted, but I finally raised my fist and knocked three times.</p><p>"Come in!" Mickey's squeaky voice sounded from inside, and I opened the door. We all piled in, Violet and a couple of others peeking in from the outside.</p><p>"Well hello! This is quite a procession!" Mickey laughed. I smiled weakly and Punz and I took the two seats across from him, Silvermist and Moana squeezing in by my sides.</p><p>"Hi, Principal Mickey. We have a proposal regarding magical students and the talent show," Rapunzel said importantly, starting me off.</p><p>I cleared my throat, my cheeks burning. "Well...as you know, powers on campus are, um, banned for students. But many of us, um, feel as if this is repressive and unfair. We-we were wondering if, only for one night, we could showcase our talents in the talent show for the school. Possibly this could raise awareness for our cause and maybe make a change," I said, rehearsing the lines I had written for myself this morning. I grew more confident as I went, but after I finished I retreated into my hunched, anxious position.</p><p>Mickey seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Well, as you know, magic in students is...deactivated on campus for the sole purpose of preserving the other students' safety. My concern would be that somehow your powers got out of control or misused, and you or another student gets hurt."</p><p>"Yes, we recognize that!" Rapunzel jumped in, saving me from becoming a stuttering mess. I didn't have a script for this part. "We have been thinking of a Powers class! That way, inside one classroom, we can learn how to control them without hurting anyone, and perhaps that can lead to activation on the entire campus!"</p><p>Mickey furrowed his brows. "A Power class?"</p><p>"Yes!" Jack answered. "We could all have it in the same period, and learn how to control them and use them for good."</p><p>"Hmm..." Mickey pondered, shuffling through some papers. "We did have some teaching applications from earlier this year, and they do happen to be fairies...I'll see if I can contact them. In the meantime, I suppose I will grant a lift on the ban on the night of the talent show. Though each of you who want to participate must come to me individually. All right?"</p><p>We all smiled and cheered, thanking him and pushing out of the office. People were congratulating me; for what, I don't know. But I smiled nonetheless as we moved as a unit into the hallway, then dispersed.</p><p>"We did it!" Rapunzel shrieked, jumping up and pumping her fist into the air. Then she gave me, Jack, and Moana an enthusiastic high five. "Come on! We gotta go prepare for the talent show!" She ran down the hall.</p><p>Moana and I glanced at each other and laughed.</p><p>Talent show, here we come.</p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>It was about a week after the kidnapping fiasco, and honestly I had begun to forget about it. Teachers were piling on assignments left and right; I had an essay to write for Ms. Poppins's English class, a math assignment for Mr. Skellington, yet another chemistry project from Ursula, a test in Frollo's Spanish class, and countless rehearsals for Grease. Plus, it was exactly five days until Jasmine's Halloween party.</p><p>Rapunzel, Anna, and I were hanging out in our dorm room, while Moana was at the grocery store. Rapunzel was sitting on her knees, painting something on a blank canvas. She had dozens of colorful pictures strewn about our room, some hanging on the walls and others next to her bed.</p><p>Anna sighed, rolling over on her bed and throwing her phone down. "I'm bored!" she declared, tugging on her two braids. It was a Saturday at 3 in the afternoon, and we had done absolutely nothing all day.</p><p>"Don't you have a date with Kristoff today?" I asked her, looking up from a Spanish review sheet. </p><p>"Yeah, but that's not for a couple hours," she replied, rolling over onto her stomach.</p><p>Suddenly, there was a hasty knock on the door. Rapunzel jumped, causing her to smear green paint all over her picture that seemed to be a chameleon. "Dang it!" she cried, rushing to fix it. Anna made no move to answer the door, so I sighed and got up from my desk to open it.</p><p>"Eric!" I exclaimed, my face reddening. I wasn't wearing any makeup and was in sweats and a tee shirt. He didn't seem to notice, though, as he gave me a big smile. I almost melted as I made eye contact with him, hastily looking away and brushing stray hair behind my ear. "Um, hi."</p><p>"Hey, Ariel. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a quick second?" he asked.</p><p>I glanced back at my dorm, where Anna and Punz not-so-subtly were craning their necks to see, maniac grins on their faces. "Sure," I told him, quickly moving out into the empty hall.</p><p>"So I've been thinking about what we were talking about in rehearsal the other day...about the talent show? I was wondering if I could write a song for you to perform. I could play guitar with you if you want."</p><p>I was speechless, frozen. Finally, I mustered out some words. "Write a song for me...me to sing? In front of the entire school?"</p><p>Eric chuckled. "Yeah, I could interview to get to know you a little better for the lyrics, and then obviously we'd have to practice... What do you say?"</p><p>My heart leapt at the thought of spending more time with Eric, getting to know him. "Why not?" I heard myself saying, wringing my hands and giving a nervous laugh.</p><p>"Great!" He gave another dazzling smile and began to walk off, before abruptly stopping and turning around again. "Oh, are you going to the Halloween party on Wednesday?"</p><p>"I think so," I replied, my face burning. "Are you?"</p><p>Eric smiled and said, "Now I am." And then he walked down the hallway.</p><p>I quickly slipped into my dorm room, where Anna and Punzie waited anxiously to hear the news. "Well? What did he say?" they pestered loudly. </p><p>"He's going to write me a song for us to perform in the talent show," I told them, leaning back on the door as that sank in.</p><p>"That's awesome!" Punz cried, jumping excitedly. "You're going to get to spend so much time with him!"</p><p>I nodded, dazedly walking back to my desk before snapping my fingers. "We need to go to the Halloween party. Eric is going."</p><p>"Yeah, of course — Wait — I don't have a costume yet!" Rapunzel exclaimed suddenly.</p><p>"Me neither!" I gasped. "I kept meaning to get one, but..."</p><p>"Should we go to the costume store?" she asked.</p><p>I shook my head. "All the good ones will be gone. Do you have a costume, Anna?"</p><p>She looked up and grinned. "Yep! Kristoff and I are going as Shaggy and Scooby Doo."</p><p>I laughed. "So are you guys like, official?" Punz asked, abandoning her painting.</p><p>Anna looked down. "I don't know. He technically hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend yet."</p><p>"Oh. Well, I'm sure he will, Anna. You guys are perfect together," I said kindly.</p><p>"Thanks. Now, what are you guys going to be for Halloween?"</p><p>Punz and I looked at each other, pondering. "Cats?" she suggested.</p><p>I shook my head. "No, that's too easy. I bet a million other people are going to be cats."</p><p>There was more silence. "I could do body paint on you! Where you don't wear any clothes, just paint!" she said excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the thought of a new canvas.</p><p>I grimaced. "No. I'm not going to go to a house party naked."</p><p>"What about an angel and devil? Ariel has red hair, Punz has blonde!" Anna said, bouncing on her bed.</p><p>Punz and I locked eyes. "Yeah!"</p><p>"I'm going to work on the headpieces right now!" she cried, jumping up and going to her art supplies.</p><p>I ran to my closet, and sure enough was able to pull out a red cropped top and skirt. I picked the same outfit out in white for Punzie. "These will do perfectly!" I said, holding them out.</p><p>Someone walked into the room. It was Moana. "What are you guys doing?" she asked, looking at the mess.</p><p>I blushed. "Making our Halloween costumes."</p><p>She smiled and walked in some more, setting down her grocery bags. "Oh, what are we being?" she asked innocently, making me flinch. I shared a small, timid look with Rapunzel.</p><p>She stood up and said gently, sadly, "Ariel and I were going to be an angel and devil."</p><p>Moana's face fell. "Oh. Cool."</p><p>"You can be...God!" I blurted. I felt so bad. She looked so hurt.</p><p>She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I had other plans anyway. Actually, I'm going to go get it right now. See you."</p><p>As she closed the door, I called, "Wait!" But it was too late. It was silent.</p><p>"That was horrible," Anna finally said.</p><p>I sighed and fell onto the bed. "I feel awful."</p><p>"Me too," Punz said. "I hope she's okay."</p><p> </p><p>MEG</p><p>I stared down at my phone again. Go get him, Meg. Don't let me down. - Hades. I let out a huge sigh, staring at myself in the mirror. I had let my hair down, rather than it's usual high ponytail. I swapped my black band tank top, black ripped jeans, and Doc Martins for a flowery dress and white sneakers that Giselle had let me borrow, plus a jean jacket. I had also taken away my black eyeliner for a more natural look.</p><p>I hated it.</p><p>"Oh, Meg, you look so cute! This is all for Hercules?" Giselle squealed, stepping back from her masterpiece.</p><p>I nodded begrudgingly. "I figured he likes less of the hard rock, punk vibe and more of the...you vibe," I told her, motioning to all her borrowed stuff.</p><p>"I'm sure he'll like you either way," she told me kindly, placing a hand on my arm. "But you should get going! Someone like me would never be late to a date!"</p><p>She handed me a purse, filled with lip gloss, oil blotting sheets, perfume, and more. I was so glad Merida was out. She would've been laughing her ass off right now.</p><p>I walked down the hall, tugging the dress down as far as it could possibly go. The lip gloss was sticky, and I resisted the urge to wipe it off.</p><p>I hesitantly walked through the doors of the movie theater, looking around for Hercules. Remind me why I'm doing this again? Oh, right, my adoptive dad is a prick.</p><p>I finally spotted the ginger, talking merrily to Philip and Aurora who were next to him in line, on a date too I assumed. I took a breath and walked toward him, pulling my dress up a little bit on second thought. I went right up and hugged Hercules, then pulled away.</p><p>"Hey Aurora, Philip," I said with a smile, waving.</p><p>They both took a double take, and I could sense Herc staring at me as well. "Wow, Meg, you look...different," Philip commented.</p><p>I grinned and twirled my hair, gagging inside. "Yeah, I thought I'd try a new style out. Do you like it, Herc?"</p><p>He looked dumbstruck, but I couldn't tell if it was good or bad. He shook himself and hastily answered, "Yeah. You look gorgeous." I smiled, but Aurora was giving me a suspicious look, squinting her eyes.</p><p>"Next!" the cashier called, and we waved goodbye to the couple as Hercules and I walked up to the counter.</p><p>"Hi, I'll have a large popcorn, a Coke Icee, and this Hershey's bar," I ordered, placing the chocolate on the counter.</p><p>"Can I get some Dibs and a water please?" Hercules requested politely. The employee went to go get our snacks and I began pulling out my cash.</p><p>"No, no, I've got it," Hercules told me, pushing it away and taking out his own shiny credit card.</p><p>"What? No, I —" I began in protest, but Hercules shushed me when he quickly gave his card to the cashier upon her return. I gaped as he grabbed our food and led the way to the ticket stand.</p><p>"I'll get you back for that," I told him, mocking grumpiness.</p><p>"No you won't. I never paid you back for the concert, so I pay for this and the next time, too."</p><p>My heart fluttered. Next time. But no. This wasn't supposed to be for me. I'm not in love.</p><p>We went up the ticket employee and I offered to hold some of the food as he got out the tickets (that he had paid for as well), but he refused and got them up on his phone. We were directed to theater 7, where the previews were still playing.</p><p>As the movie began, the room quieted and the lights went down, I took a silent breath. The whole point of movies is not to talk, so I wouldn't have to. Plus, Hercules is probably the type of person to stay silent the whole time with his phone completely off.</p><p>Halfway through the movie, I glanced down at Hercules's hand. It was placed politely on his knee, and I took a breath before slowly inching my fingers towards his. I hesitantly brushed against them, and saw him glance down. I pretended to continue watching the movie, and when he didn't press on, I eventually took his hand. He grasped it lightly, and I felt a buzz up my arms, my heart thundering.</p><p>Needless to say, I didn't pay attention to the rest of the movie.</p><p>As we got out of the theater, the sunlight piercing our eyes, Herc suggested, "Want to go by the lake?"</p><p>"Sure," I replied with a smile, and realized our hands were still interlaced.</p><p>Hercules glanced down at them. "Is this okay?" he asked, concerned, and I felt my heart get warmer. I nodded.</p><p>He smiled and led the way towards campus again, where the lake sat shimmering in the sun. Since it was a beautiful day, other students were milling about, doing homework or tanning or just hanging out in the grass.</p><p>We walked by the shoreline of the lake, and suddenly I felt my phone buzz in my purse. I quickly took it out. Better get a move on sister, it read. From Hades, of course. Find out any weaknesses he has. And seduce him with what little you've got, capeesh?</p><p>I rolled my eyes and put my phone away, after turning it off. "Is everything all right?" Hercules asked with concern.</p><p>"Oh, yeah. Just annoying roommates," I lied. Making a split second decision, I faked tripping into his muscular arms, which caught me firmly.</p><p>"Woah, you okay?"</p><p>"Sorry, weak ankles," I told him with a flirty smile, popping up a foot.</p><p>"Maybe you'd better sit down." He swept me off my feet with unimaginable ease and brought me to sit underneath a shady tree, but I honestly didn't want to leave his grasp.</p><p>As he sat next to me, I expertly shimmied my dress sleeve off my shoulder. Then, I stuck my bare ankle under his nose, making his eyes widen. "So, things like this don't bother you? Weak ankles, I mean," I asked, causing him to turn to look at me.</p><p>"Oh, no, not really," he said, pushing my foot down.</p><p>"No weaknesses whatsoever?" I asked him, cursing myself as I inched closer to him. "Any difficult classes? Football plays you can't get right? A girl who makes you simply weak at the knees?" I smirked as he chuckled uncomfortably, a blush creeping up his neck.</p><p>"Um, nope," he replied with a grin. He reached over and gently pulled my dress strap back onto my shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm as fit as a fiddle." He got up and picked up a rock near the water.</p><p>"Wonderboy, you are perfect," I muttered grumpily, watching him with admiration.</p><p>He laughed. "Well, thanks," he said, skipping the rock. I counted nine.</p><p>He came back to the tree sitting next to me again. "You know," he began, his eyes shining with sincerity. "When I was a kid, I would give anything to be like anybody else."</p><p>I scoffed. "You wanted to be petty and dishonest?"</p><p>He looked at me. "Everybody's not like that," he said.</p><p>I sighed, staring out into the lake. "Yes they are," I replied quietly, crossing my arms.</p><p>"You're not like that," Hercules told me, causing me to turn my head to stare at him.</p><p>"And how do you know what I'm like?" I asked with a fake laugh.</p><p>"All I know is," he said, placing a hand on mine, "you're the most amazing person with...weak ankles I've ever met."</p><p>I blushed, gulped and felt my hands get sweaty. "Meg...when I'm with you, I don't feel so alone," he confesses, taking both my hands and looking into my eyes. His were diamond blue. It seemed like there was a permanent smile in them, gentle.</p><p>I looked away, finally, using all my strength to do so. I took my hands from his. "Sometimes it's better to be alone."</p><p>"What do you mean?" he asked.</p><p>I picked at the grass, a familiar panicked feeling rising in my chest as my mind raced. "Nobody can hurt you," I answered.</p><p>"Meg," he said, taking my chin and turning it towards him. "I would never, ever hurt you."</p><p>My heart felt like it was being stabbed.</p><p>"And I don't want to hurt you," I told him honestly, "so let's just do both ourselves a favor and stop this before..." But I had begun to lean into him, closing my eyes, my body aflutter.</p><p>"ALL RIGHT, BREAK IT UP, BREAK IT UP! I'VE BEEN LOOKIN' ALL OVER!" someone screamed, and we both jumped apart and to our feet to find Phil looking angry on a golf cart. Simba was driving, since Phil's short legs couldn't reach the pedals.</p><p>"Calm down, Phil!" I yelled, walking up to the cart.</p><p>"You're already on my list, sister, so don't make it worse! You're supposed to be making' espressos for those bratty kids over at the cafe!" he jumped out of the cart and stomped towards Herc. "And as for you, ya bum! You're gonna go to the field, and you're gonna be put to work outa your life! Mulan's back, so we'd better get a move on! Now get on the cart!"</p><p>"Okay, okay," Herc said, rolling his eyes and smiling at me.</p><p>"I'm sorry," I apologized, looking down.</p><p>"He'll get over it." Hercules reached up to the leaves of the tree and plucked a blossoming flower, handing it to me. As I gazed at it, he bent down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I am going to explode.</p><p>"MOVE! Move move move move move move!" Phil shouted. I waved as the golf cart sped away, Phil still yelling.</p><p>I dreamily walked back over to the tree, still staring at the pink flower and running my fingers over my cheek. I slid down to sit, but then snapped myself back into reality as my phone buzzed again, but I didn't pick it up. "Ugh, what's the matter with me?" I sighed. "You'd think a girl would learn." I pushed myself up again to stand by the shore of the lake.</p><p>If there's a prize for rotten judgement, you'd think I'd already won that, I thought, staring at my reflection in the water. No man is worth the aggravation. I threw the flower into the water. "I won't say I'm in love," I told it defiantly, walking away.</p><p>I thought my heart had learned its lesson, it feels so good when you start out. Get a grip girl! Unless you're dying to cry your heart out! I thought to myself, watching as Peter and Wendy giggled while on a picnic. On the other side of the lake, Snow and Florian were chasing each other with water guns, while Pocahontas and John were watching the clouds, rolling around in the grass.</p><p>I made one full circle around the lake, fully in my head. When I got back to the same tree, Silvermist walked up to me. "I thought you might want this," she said, and handed me the pink flower with a knowing smile on her face.</p><p>I looked up at her with surprise, but then smiled and took it, thanking her. I began my walk home, staring at it all the while. Then I whispered, "At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love."</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: wow i'm back already! an early update my dudes! and it's long! i did this because i'm going to a carnival with my best friend and her (future) boyfriend tomorrow night, and i'm so excited! then this weekend i'll be doing a bio project, so i just posted today.</p><p>but how do you feel about the talent show? do you think the powers will be for good or end up causing havoc? and how about the power classes? now eric and ariel are doing an act together, but how will vanessa react?? and don't you feel bad for moana? finally, what is going on with meg?? is she in love? how will this affect what happens with hades?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What do you think students will dress up as for the Halloween party? Comment down below! (please i'm running out of ideas)</p><p>My Answer: well i obviously can't answer that now can i</p>
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<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>JANE</p><p>I adjusted my dog ears, making sure it was perfectly pinned to my curled hair. I stepped in front of the mirror, pressing my black skirt down.</p><p>Then, Belle joined me in the mirror. "You look pretty," she commented. She was wearing just a normal outfit, some jeans and a long sleeved sweater.</p><p>"Thank you! I wish you would dress up," I said, smiling at my best friend.</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "That's too much out of my comfort zone. I'd rather admire the costumes than stress about my own."</p><p>I nodded, and we grabbed our stuff before heading out the door.</p><p>As we arrived at the elevators, the doors opened to reveal someone. I jumped, until I realized it was my boyfriend. "Tarzan!" I cried happily, reaching out my arms and running to him. He smiled and picked me up. He smelled wonderful, and his strong arms made me feel warm and welcome. I felt my heart swell as I listened to his heartbeat.</p><p>I reluctantly let go and realized Belle had gotten on, and the elevator was traveling down. I looked Tarzan up and down. He wore yellow pants and a black tee shirt, with suspenders and a firefighter hat. His normally tied up dreadlocks were let loose, and his buff arms almost popped out of his shirt. I had had the idea of going as a firefighter and a dalmation.</p><p>"You look brilliant!" I told him, smiling.</p><p>"So do you," he replied. I blushed and looked down at my black and white spotted shirt, black skirt, and black tights.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>"Where is your costume, Belle?" Tarzan asked innocently.</p><p>She looked up from her phone, which of course she was reading from. "I don't like dressing up."</p><p>Tarzan nodded, and we walked off the elevator, our arms around each others waists. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The first bell rang, and Ms. Poppins clapped her hands, getting the class's attention. "All right, children. Happy Halloween, yes yes yes. Today, we have decided to go Trick-or-Treating," she said, distaste dripping from her words. The class cheered. "So we will be passing out buckets and you will go trick-or-treating around the school. Then, we will be having the costume contest in the cafeteria. We will have lunch, and as you know you get out early, so you go home afterward. Sound good?"</p><p>We all nodded, bursting into the excited chatter.  "I can't believe this is whole day is centered around Halloween!" Boo said happily. I noticed she was dressed as a some sort of monster, with a blue shirt and purple spots. Lil sat next to her, dressed as a blue alien.</p><p>"I know, it's wonderful!" I said, smiling.</p><p>"Everyone, grab a bag on your way out!" Ms. Poppins exclaimed over the talking. We all rushed to the door, and took one of the orange buckets from the desk, spilling into the hall where the rest of the school was. Students ran from classroom to classroom, the teachers hurriedly throwing candy in everyone's buckets.</p><p>"This cannot he safe," I said to Tarzan as we watched people yelling and laughing, getting pushed around.</p><p>"Let's go, Jane! We have got to get candy!" Tarzan cried, and I laughed at the childlike glow in his eyes. He pulled me from classroom, saying "Trick or treat!" to every teacher and collecting candy. Soon, the chaos died down and we were able to calmly walk through the halls.</p><p>Once we had visited practically the whole school, Peter pulled me under the bleachers of the football field. "What are we doing?" I asked, giggling.</p><p>"Now we can eat!" Tarzan said, his eyes shining at our buckets full to the brim with various candies. He poured them out and was about to dive in, but I stopped him.</p><p>"Wait! We have to organize them first!"</p><p>He gave me a confused, disgusted, annoyed look. "Why?"</p><p>"Because. It's proper," I replied shortly, and began to gather all the M&amp;Ms into a pile. "Come on. The more you help, the quicker you can eat them."</p><p>He immediately started gathering all the lollipops together.</p><p>Once we were finished, Tarzan hungrily began eating anything he could get his hands on, as I did. Usually, Tarzan and I were very diligent vegetarians with a, one could say, "hipster" diet. But I supposed today we could take a day off. I laughed at Tarazn and he smiled at me, his face covered in chocolate.</p><p>"What?" he asked.</p><p>"You have something..." I said, taking a napkin out of my purse. I reached towards him but he dodged my arm, laughing. "Hey!" I cried, tumbling after him. He grabbed my arm and tackled me, pinning me to the ground and making me laugh uncontrollably. Then he bent down and kissed me, making me smile.</p><p>When he pulled away, I joked, "Now I have chocolate all over my face!"</p><p>"And now you're even cuter," he said quietly with a smirk, and started kissing the chocolate, causing me to laugh and squeal as we rolled around in the grass.</p><p>Soon, the bell rang, ending our fun as I begged Tarzan to stop, a twinkle in my eye. "Come on, it's lunch time, and I want to enter the costume contest."</p><p>He grinned at me, silent. "What?" I asked, exasperated as I began placing the candy neatly back in our buckets.</p><p>"You have grass in your hair," he said, reading to pull some of it out.</p><p>"Oh, dear. Oh, well, it's all right," I said, also trying to get it out. We finally wiped both of our mouths of chocolate and his of lipstick, and we set off, hand in hand to the cafeteria. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>LOTTIE</p><p>"Hey there honeys! How's it going?" I said loudly, sitting at a cafeteria table at lunch that held Anna, Ariel, Rapunzel, Jane, Belle, Alice, and Wendy. Wendy and Peter had just won best couple costume in the contest, dressed as the famous sailor and nurse kissing in Times Square, and I could tell Vanessa was enraged. She had made Eric dress up as Danny and Sandy from Grease, just to shove it in Ariel's face. Ariel seemed to be straining to put on a smile.</p><p>"Hi, Lottie," my friends chorused back.</p><p>"What's the tea?" I asked, looking around at them. "Any new crushes? Relationships? I feel like I haven't talked to you girls  in forevah. I've been trapped up with Vanessa an' her gang of devils."</p><p>It was quiet for a few seconds, but then Anna chipped in. "My...thing with Kristoff is going great!"</p><p>I grinned. "Yay! That's fantastic, sweetheart."</p><p>"Yeah, Tarzan and I are going  well too," Jane announced. I blushed  at the mention of Tarzan, his face and muscular arms filling up my mind. My heart was buzzing, but I  shook it off quickly, giving her a small smile.</p><p>"What about you guys?" I asked the rest. I knew Wendy's relationship with Peter was practically perfect in every way.</p><p>Rapunzel blushed and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear at the question. I squealed, clapping my hands. "Oooh! Tell me, Punz!"</p><p>She laughed and everyone looked at her too. "What?" Anna asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "How do I not know about this?"</p><p>"It's...it's not a very big crush...It's kind of new..." Punzie said bashfully, not meeting her eye.</p><p>"Who?" Anna, Ariel, Jane, Wendy, Alice and I demanded.</p><p>She flinched and chuckled. "Um...Flynn Rider?"</p><p>I gasped. "Wow, Punz, he is a hunk!"</p><p>She laughed. The others fawned over her and asked her questions, but it died down quickly.</p><p>"Is everyone going to Jasmine's party tonight?" Rapunzel asked afterward, taking another bite of Nutella sandwich.</p><p>Everyone nodded. "Yep!" Alice chirped. "I'm going as a bag of Jelly Beans." I laughed.</p><p>Jane said with a grin, "Tarzan an I are going as a firefighter and a dalmation."</p><p>The others giggled. I glanced over at Tarzan, who was  sitting and play fighting rambunctiously with his football friends. I sighed. He was just...perfect. Yesterday, I had "accidentally" dropped my pen and he immediately bent down to retrieve it for me, as if I were a princess. And those muscles...</p><p>"Lottie!" Anna said loudly, snapping in my ear. I turned quickly to look back at my friends,  a smile plastered onto my pale face.</p><p>"Yeah? Sorry, sweetcakes, I wasn't listening," I laughed shaking off my daze.</p><p>"We were asking who you were going to the party with," she explained, munching on a salad.</p><p>I groaned and rolled my eyes. "It'll hardly be any fun for me; I have to go with Vanessa and company. We're going as sexy black cats," I said, grimacing.</p><p>The others laughed. "What would you have gone as if you were free?" Belle asked, looking up from her history homework.</p><p>I hummed, thinking. "Marylin Monroe. I've gone the laugh down cold, wanna see?"</p><p>The girls made noises of approval, but then suddenly a screech rang across the cafeteria. "CHARLOTTE!" Drizella yelled. I whipped back to look at Vanessa glowering at me, along with Drizella and Marie. Anastasia was with them too, hiding in the back. I had learned from my sleuthing that Anastasia was actually pretty swell, and she wants to be in Vanessa's wicked trap as much as I do. She and I usually stick together when we're with the other three, who seem to be pure evil.</p><p>I looked back at Ariel, Jane, Anna, Rapunzel, Wendy, Alice and Belle, letting out a sigh. "Well girls, the devil calls," I sad, climbing out of my seat and grabbing my plate full of pasta.</p><p>"Bye, Lottie!"</p><p>"Stay strong!"</p><p>"Meow!" I sent a quick glare back at Alice who gigged. I walked over to where Vanessa was waiting, tapping her finger on her lunch tay. She glanced down at my own.</p><p>"What is this?" she asked distastefully, curling her lip. She looked ridiculous dressed as Sandy, and her outfit was unnecessarily revealing.</p><p>"Fettucini alfredo?" I replied, the end forming as  question. You never know what that girl will approve and disapprove of. She gagged.</p><p>"Charlotte, how many times do I have to tell you! No carbs. They just pile weight everywhere, especially your stomach, and we know that you, of all people, cannot have that happen."</p><p>I gave a low gasp as the raven-haired witch turned and slithered over to our usual table, right in the center of the cafeteria. I glanced down at my belly, which was exposed by my pale yellow crop top. It has been looking bit pudgy lately...</p><p>"What  were you doing over there with those obnoxious dolphins?" Vanessa inquired, talking about my friends and sitting down with her salad. Salad, salad, salad, every day. That's all she ate. I don't even think the girl has taste buds, because I've never seen her eat anything that has flavor in it.</p><p>"Um," I began, clearing my throat. "I was just, ya know, spying on them. Tryin'  to get some dirt on them that you could use." Wow, that lie came out way too easily.</p><p>Vanessa hummed in approval, pouring her low-fat dressing on the salad. I heard that the cafeteria was instructed to make it special for her.</p><p>I exhaled in relief, seemingly in the clear. I expected her to go on talking about Eric or her pimples or the party tonight.</p><p>"Find anything out?" She took a bite of the leaves.</p><p>I coughed on my lemonade, putting it down quickly and blinking at her. "'Scuse me?"</p><p>She glanced up. "Any secrets about them?"</p><p>I felt four pairs of eyes on me, waiting for an answer. I coughed. "Um...I found out that Tarzan and Jane are going as a firefighter and a dalmation to the party tonight?"</p><p>"Hm, really? That's all?" Vanessa asked, eyeing me through her fake eyelashes. "There seemed to be a lot of squealing over there."</p><p>I shifted uncomfortably, looking back a Punzie. "Well...Rapunzel has a tiny, tiny crush on Flynn Rider? It's probably nothing, though."</p><p>Marie and Drizella gasped, and Anastasia's eyes widened. Vanessa's narrowed.</p><p>"Interesting..." she mused softly, going back to her salad. I gulped. Something was going on in her head. Had I just betrayed Rapunzel?</p><p>"And what about Tinkerbell and Kuzco? You seem to hang out with them a lot as well," Vanessa continued, seeming uninterested. I could feel sweat begin to form on my forehead as I glanced over at them. They were laughing heartily, and I wanted more than anything to be sitting with them at the moment.</p><p>"Um, nothing on them. They're gossip free..." I lied, looking at my nails.</p><p>Vanessa stopped eating. "Yeah, right. Don't lie to me, LaBouff."</p><p>I took a breath. I couldn't lie. Vanessa would know, and then be suspicious of my 'loyalty.' "Tink, uh, is still really jealous of Wendy and Peter," I said quietly. "I think she is trying to break them up."</p><p>Vanessa paused. "All right. And?"</p><p>I shook my head. "Kuzco is a clean slate." Vanessa's eyes bore into mine, and I felt like I was burning. I couldn't lie to her.  I closed my eyes. "Um...well...Kuzco likes Hercules I think..." I felt like throwing up.</p><p>Vanessa's dark violet eyes flitted up to me, sparking with curiosity. "Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. I gave a small nod. Vanessa wet her lips, deep in thought. "Lottie, I have an assignment for you."</p><p>My breath caught with dread. She had never given me an assignment before. Everyone has their own little jobs in our groups, all for Vanessa. Drizella helps Vanessa with all of her tasks and sabotages. Marie puts together all of our events and Anastasia makes sure that there are no rumors going around about us, and to spread fake rumors about others. I had so far avoided getting an assignment -- but now I dreaded the next words Vanessa spoke.</p><p>"I'm giving you my job: you have to find everything out about everyone. I want to know the entire school's schedule; I want to know what everyone has for lunch;  I want to know who likes who, who hates who, who is friends with who. Lottie, you are my eyes. You must watch all of Walt E. Disney High."</p><p>I gaped at her. "What? Vanessa, that's impossible. I can't know everythin' about everyone -- this school is huge!" I exclaimed. "There's gotta be — what, a thousand kids here?"</p><p>Vanessa smirked. "Well then you'd better get going."</p><p> </p><p>●●●</p><p> </p><p>Right after school, I begrudgingly walked to the flagpole, a reusable grocery bag in my hand. There, Vanessa, Drizella, and Marie were waiting impatiently. "Finally. Have you seen Anastasia anywhere?" Vanessa snapped, shooting me a glare at my tardiness.</p><p>I shook my head. "Not since fifth period."</p><p>"Ugh. Where is that little brat?" I flinched, but tried not to let it show. "Anyways," Vanessa continued. "Have you started on your assignment yet?"</p><p>"What? No, 'course not. It's only been two hours."</p><p>"Exactly. You're already failing, Charlotte. I knew you were worthless."</p><p>I stuttered. "Vanessa, I --"</p><p>"There you are, Anastasia. What took you so long, idiot?" Vanessa said bitterly as Anastasia Tremaine came running up, plastic bag swinging in her hands.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, I --" she began breathlessly, a familiar look of fear in her eyes.</p><p>"Don't care. Let's go, girls," Vanessa interrupted, setting off to the dorms, the rest of us following after her. "You all have your costumes?"</p><p>We murmured back yeses and held up our bags. Jasmine's party started in nine hours, but Vanessa wanted us to go straight to her dorm to get ready. These nine hours were going to be hell.</p><p>All 5 of us arrived at her and the Tremaine's room, which was a mess. I wrinkled my nose at the amount of clothes and makeup strewn about the floor; I mean, I know I was messy too, but not this messy. It was like a hippo had squeezed through the door and panicked over what it was going to wear on a date. Which wasn't entirely inaccurate.</p><p>I stood there awkwardly with Marie on a clean spot on the floor  while the Tremaines and Vanessa went to their beds. "Ever think of gettin' a housekeeper, Vanessa?" I asked, but she just scoffed back to her reflection in the mirror.</p><p>"Maids don't do anything except for hide my stuff and steal expensive things. Plus, they're all colored. I don't want them in my room," she replied nonchalantly, fixing her lipstick she was going to take off anyway.</p><p>I felt my blood boil and my face turn red with anger. "Excuse me?" I said loudly, balling my fists, my blinged pink acrylic nails digging into my palms.</p><p>Vanessa looked back at me, almost laughing at my anger. "I know you used to have that Tiana as a friend, but Lottie, you did the right thing by moving on. That girl is a poor, disgusting thing who has  probably stolen half of your money, and your empty little head doesn't even know it."</p><p>My eyes fixed on Vanessa, who began taking out her costume as if she had been talking about the weather. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit her. "HOW DARE YOU!" I shouted, advancing towards her and stomping on all of the clothes in my way. "How dare you, Vanessa! YOU ARE A VILE, EVIL, DISGUSTIN' LITTLE COCKROACH!" I shoved her, causing to slam against her closet door with a shocked look on her face. "You are the most DISGUSTING thing I have EVAH laid my eyes on, you bitch!" I screamed, reaching for her hair and yanking on it.</p><p>"OW!" Vanessa yelled, her eyes fiery with anger. But nothing could match me at the moment.</p><p>I began hitting her wherever I could, Vanessa pitifully slapping back. "Evil-monster-ugly-conceited-" I shouted with every hit, until I felt arms securing mine and dragging me backward, still screeching and kicking.</p><p>I stopped to get a good look at Vanessa and felt a flash of pride. Her perfect hair was now matted, knotted. Red marks littered her arms and chest, and her nose was bleeding.</p><p>"You," she seethed, pointing at me with blood pouring from her face. "You will pay for this, Charlotte LaBouff. Mark my words." I thought I saw a glimpse of red flash through her eyes, but I must have imagined it.</p><p>She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, as the Tremaine twins, Marie and I watched. Marie and Drizella let go of my arms, scowling. However, Anastasia remained on her bed, mouth agape.</p><p>I smirked and looked at my arms. There were a few scratches from Vanessa's freakishly long nails, but otherwise I was unscathed.</p><p>"You shouldn't have done that," Marie said, pointing her nose into the air and glaring at me, arms folded.</p><p>"Oh, what do you know, O'Malley," I snarled.</p><p>She practically hissed at me and then went to pull out her black nail polish. I sat by Anastasia. "That was awesome," she whispered to me, and I giggled quietly.</p><p>"Anytime, suga'," I told her. But I looked away and sighed. She was right. I was going to pay for that. And it wasn't going to be pretty. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello! an update on a wednesday, odd. consistent updating schedules? we don't know her.</p><p>WOWEE. so we started off with some tarjane (lol, what is their ship name?) fluff (did you enjoy it? i wasn't really feeling confidence in it, i'm still contemplating putting it in or not lol) but then the tides turned, didn't they?</p><p>is this our first lottie pov??? i don't remember, but if it is, that is crazy and i apologize, lol. oo la la, punzie is starting to have a crush? how did that happen? maybe a pov will come up to explain all that, wink wink. but does lottie have a crush as well? how will that play out? and oh no, lottie is forced to betray her friends!! will vanessa use this information against them? and will lottie tell her the truth with her new assignment? and oh my gosh, how do you feel about lottie's outburst? how will vanessa react?</p><p>Chapter of the Question: If you could play any Disney princess in a Broadway production (whether existing or not), who would you want to play?</p><p>My Answer: probably rapunzel, i love her songs and the sets and especially the hair would be so fun! or maybe giselle, i could totally see that as a broadway show! i love her personality and the dresses would be so fun!</p>
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<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NALA</p><p>I was sitting on the floor, my back against Dmitri's bed, when Flynn walked into the dorm. "That's your Halloween costume?" Anya asked in disbelief. I looked up to see what Dmitri and Tramp had begun laughing about. Flynn looked normal; he didn't have his leather jacket, but he wore jeans and a white t-shirt, which had the writing: Error 404 Costume Not Found. I snorted, looking him in the eye.</p><p>"Come on, Rider. At least we tried," Tramp said. He was dressed as a skeleton, with black eyeshadow on, making a nose and a smile. Dmitri wore red striped pants, a white shirt, a Hawaiian shirt, and his hair done in a spike to portray Ace Ventura. Anya had pulled together some jeans, a white and red striped sweater, and a red beanie to be Where's Waldo. I went as a butterfly, using my makeup skills to complete it. I wore a black dress and some wings.</p><p>Flynn threw out his arms. "What? It's funny, right?" Anya rolled her eyes and I laughed, shaking my head absently. "Well, you guys do not appreciate my efforts. Shall we go?" he asked, waving us away and pointing to the door.</p><p>Anya and I heaved ourselves off the ground as the other boys rolled off of the bed, joining Flynn in the hall.</p><p>●●●</p><p>We walked into the mansion, the loud music blasting my ears out. I made a face -- this was already not my favorite. The pulse of the beat matching my frantic heart, I glanced at Anya. "Wow, I hate this," I yelled, shaking my head.</p><p>She laughed. "Come on, Nala. Just try to enjoy yourself. After all, this is going to be the best party of the year!" I tried to smile, but she had already grabbed Dmitri's arm and led him into the crowd.</p><p>And then it was just Tramp, Flynn, and I. Tramp was already scanning the crowd on his toes. "What'cha looking for?" I asked him with a chuckle. He lowered himself and gave me a sheepish grin.</p><p>"No one in particular. Just a girl," he responded with a lopsided smirk, causing me to smile and roll my eyes. Then he said, "Bingo." He clicked his tongue, winked, gave me finger guns, and strode into the sea of people towards a pretty girl dressed like Audrey Hepburn.</p><p>"And then there were two," Flynn said with a chuckle, leaning down so I could hear him. I smiled and blushed a bit, clasping my hands behind my back. "Shall we?" Flynn asked, holding his hand out for me. I looked at it, my stomach jumping. He glanced at it too, and I could tell he almost took it away. "For comfort, of course," he said hastily, shrugging and putting his hand down. But I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, glancing at him. He grinned back at me, and I faced the hall that led to the throng of students and took a breath. Flynn and I stepped into it together.</p><p>Immediately I felt like I was going to die. I was pressed on by sweating, writhing bodies from all sides, constricting me and making it hard to breathe. I looked up at Flynn with panic in my eyes, and he read them quickly. He held my hand tighter as he quickly began pulling me along through the crowd. In front of me, he  was pushing people to make way, causing them to fall into each other, but they didn't seem to care. Eventually, we both made it to an unpopulated wall, where I finally released my breath. I leaned up against it in relief.</p><p>After a couple of quiet moments of the two of us watching the dancing people, I said, "Thanks."</p><p>Flynn looked down at me. "No problem. It can be a little overwhelming." I nodded silently, the blood in my ears dying down.</p><p>Suddenly, Meg stumbled right in front of us, looking a little loopy. She stopped to gain her balance, and then she grinned at me - that's when I knew something was off. "Hey, Nala, Flynny boy." She seemed to be dressed as a business woman, probably a character I couldn't place.</p><p>"Hey, Meg," I replied uneasily. "You all right?"</p><p>"Me? Yeah! I haven't had this much fun in ages! I probably had a little too much beer though," she slurred, laughing drunkenly. Ah. So that's what was up.</p><p>"There's alcohol here?" I asked, looking around. Indeed, lots of people held red solo cups, just like in those teen movies.</p><p>"Of course. You've never been to a real party, have you?" Flynn asked with an amused glint in his eye.</p><p>"Yes, I have!" I retorted defensively. "Just the parents have been there. And there was no alcohol. Or PDA." I scooched away from Gaston and Rosetta making out mere feet from me.</p><p>Flynn laughed and repeated, "So you haven't been to a real party. Here, let me get you a drink. Your first one, right?"</p><p>I nodded reluctantly and Flynn shot me a smirk, then disappeared. And then there was one. All my friends had left me. Meg didn't count because she had forgotten about me and was now digging through a bowl of pretzels.Hercules, dressed as Superman (ah, so they were Superman and Lois Lane) came to retrieve her. I took a breath and just watched the people, watching as Aurora and Cinderella performed a seemingly choreographed dance to the music. People formed a circle around them, cheering and clapping, the two blonde girls giggling in the center. I stood on my toes to see them over the crowd, but soon it ended, leaving them with applause before the students merged again.</p><p>"Hey, Nala," I heard a familiar voice say over the beat. I jumped and turned. There stood Jasmine, dressed as a lifeguard with a water bottle in her hand.</p><p>"Oh, hi Jaz," I responded with a smile. "This house is amazing." I looked up at one of the chandeliers.</p><p>She chuckled. "Thanks. My dad bought it because he thought he could stay here when he came to visit me, but that's never happened. So it's just here, so I just figured we could use an empty house for parties since he's always on business trips anyway."</p><p>"So you just have an extra mansion?" I asked in disbelief.</p><p>She laughed and nodded. "Wow," I said.</p><p>"Are you enjoying the party? Can I get you a drink or anything?" she offered kindly.</p><p>"It's a little much, I'm a little claustrophobic, but it's okay. And no, thank you, Flynn is getting me one right now."</p><p>"Oh," she said in understanding. She then winked. "You and Flynn don't have a...thing right?"</p><p>My eyes widened and my mind flashed to holding his hand just minutes ago. I shook my head. Jasmine nodded. "You're not drinking?" I asked her, looking at her water.</p><p>She shook her head. "No, no, no. It's the host's job to stay sober and make sure people don't break anything." I laughed, and at that moment there were vomiting noises close by. She sighed. "All right, that's my cue. Well, you can always go play games, swim, or get food over there. Bye Nala!"</p><p>I waved and was left alone again.</p><p>I heard a loud smack and looked over to see Rosetta fuming, turning on her heel and marching away as Gaston cradled his cheek. But he spotted me looking and immediately plastered on a smirk. "Hey, baby girl," he purred, advancing toward me.</p><p>I grimaced. "No, thank you. Go away, Gaston," I said firmly, my hands shaking.</p><p>"Oh, come on-" he began, leaning up on the wall.</p><p>"Get. Lost. Gaston," someone growled, and I saw Flynn push past me and give Gaston's chest a slight shove.</p><p>Gaston raised his fist, but Flynn held up a scolding finger. "Ah ah ah! Remember who is suspended right now? We wouldn't want to get you expelled by punching a harmless little guy like me," he mocked.</p><p>Gaston grit his teeth but seemed to take Flynn's logic, giving in. He sent me a side glare and sidled off into the crowd.</p><p>Flynn turned to me with concern. "You okay?" he asked.</p><p>I smiled. "Yeah. Thank you."</p><p>"No problem," he said. He handed me a bottle. "And now, to celebrate! Your first beer."</p><p>I laughed and took it. The top was already removed, and Flynn held his out to me. "Cheers." I clinked mine against his, took a breath and closed my eyes. I took a sip.</p><p>Grimacing, I swallowed it. "Ew," I said bluntly, staring at the bottle with disgust.</p><p>Flynn laughed. "You get used to it. Though if that's your reaction to beer, I do not recommend you try vodka at any time soon."</p><p>I laughed but eyed him warily. In what situations had he had vodka?</p><p>We leaned against the wall, sipping the drink and watching the people dancing, pointing out costumes. I somehow drank two more beers, forgetting about the taste.</p><p>In about forty minutes, the crowd looked more inviting. I wanted to dance. I took another swig of beer and began dancing in place, moving my head to the time of the buzzing in my ears. My arms tingled, and I felt electric. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>FLYNN</p><p>I watched as Nala downed the rest of her bottle, placing it on the table. She grinned at me. It caused her butterfly makeup to crinkle, and the wings looked as if they were fluttering. I smiled, but she continued grinning up at me, her deep dark eyes shining. "What?" I asked.</p><p>She exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go dance!" She grabbed my hand in both her small ones and began pulling me toward the crowd, giggling.</p><p>"A minute ago, just walking through that crowd was your worst nightmare," I reminded her. But secretly, I didn't want her to stop. She sighed dramatically, hanging off my arm as she rolled her eyes. "But now it looks fuuuuun," she reasoned, giving me puppy dog eyes. I felt weak at the knees as we locked eyes.</p><p>I brushed myself off, laughing and shrugging as if she wasn't making me turn to jelly. "Okay," I replied, not looking into her eyes again, "But don't say I didn't warn you."</p><p>Nala squealed happily and dragged me into the crowd, jumping to the pulsing music. "Woohoo!" she screamed, flinging her arms up. I laughed at her and she looked mildly confused, but then she began dancing.</p><p>I felt myself smile, and quickly hid it. I danced halfheartedly with her, trying not to get swept up by the people.</p><p>"Come on, Flynnigan," she whined, making me blush a bit. She giggled at the new nickname, and then grabbed the half empty beer from my hand and downed the rest of it. I gaped a bit, impressed. For her first drinks, she was doing pretty well. I had tried to stop her from drinking the other two earlier, but she was insistent on getting the "real party" experience.</p><p>Nala mindlessly placed the empty bottle on the floor and I went to pick it up lest someone break it, but she grabbed my hands firmly. I looked at her and she was glaring at me. "Dance," she ordered. She began to dance again, making me laugh. Okay, she was way too drunk.</p><p>"Okay, okay," I replied, not wanting to make her angry. I began moving with her, gazing at her makeup and chuckling at her movements she would normally gag at. She closed her eyes and suddenly she was a butterfly. Her arms floated as she spun, looking majestic. My breath caught.</p><p>She suddenly opened her eyes and stopped moving. "What?" she asked me, giggling and stumbling from dizziness.</p><p>I felt my stomach drop, and suddenly my gut took over. "You're adorable," I stated, smirking. At least she probably wouldn't remember me saying this. It was for the better. She can't...it wouldn't work.</p><p>Nala stood there for a moment, and I felt myself pale. What if this ruined everything? What had I done, why had I said that?</p><p>But before I knew it, she was reaching out and she grabbed my cheeks roughly and pulled me down to kiss her. I froze. What is happening? But she didn't let go, and my body took over, melting into her and holding her small waist to me. She smiled and so did I. The music and the voices around me seemed to slow. She pulled away.</p><p>I was left breathless, my hands wrapped loosely around her torso as I stared into her sparkling eyes. She giggled again. "Dance!" she yelled, and took my hands again before leading me in a messy waltz, completely off the music. I felt as if I were floating as I laughed. She tripped over her legs and tumbled to the floor, still laughing.</p><p>My eyes widened. "Are you okay?" I asked quickly, crouching down and shielding her so that nobody stepped on her. She continued laughing. "Okay," I said under my breath. I took her hand and put my other gingerly behind her back, helping her up.</p><p>Once she stood, she stumbled again, losing her balance as if she were on a ship. "Woah, there," I said, tightening my grip and grabbing her arm.</p><p>She giggled. "Am I drunk?" she slurred to me, and I chuckled.</p><p>"Yes, Nala, you're drunk. Congratulations," I said with a layer of a joking tone, but I truly needed to get her out of here. "We're gonna get you home," I told her, beginning to lead her through the crowd and to the front door.</p><p>"I don't want to go!" she complained feebly, trying to escape from my hold but to no avail. I gently guided her through the dancing people and to the front door, all while she was whining at me to let her go.</p><p>We stepped into the cold October air and Nala shivered, her dark arms exposed. I released her for a second to take off my leather jacket and hand it to her, which she accepted quickly and put on. Now, with her wings all tangled up in my too-large jacket, stumbling into me, I felt my heart warm even more.</p><p>We began the walk back to the dorms, Nala muttering a slurred song that I couldn't recognize. When we reached the dorm rooms, it was 11:30. The school had given  us two hours more of curfew, so we were all right. But I peered in through the glass doors to find Lady Tremaine sitting sourly at her desk, reading a magazine. The lobby was completely empty, and there was no way I could get a drunk Nala to the elevators without her noticing.</p><p>I pulled Nala away from the doors and backed up against a wall. "Okay, so, here's the plan," I whispered, scouring the building for an alternative way to get in. My eyes locked on an open window on the second floor. Perfect. "I'm going to help you climb up to that window, okay? We can't go through the lobby."</p><p>"Because I'm drunk!" Nala yelled excitedly, throwing her hands up and doing a little wiggle.</p><p>"Yes, because you're drunk," I confirmed, trying not to laugh. "Have you ever climbed a drain pipe?"</p><p>Nala gave me an exaggerated confused look. "I don't think so, but I can try!" She backed up and stared at the pipe with determination, before beginning to get a running start.</p><p>"No! No, no, we're not doing that," I said stopping her with a hand. She fell back on the grass. I looked up at the window again, forming another plan in my mind. It was risky, but it seemed the only way.</p><p>"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," I told her, reaching out for her arms and helping her up. "You're going to get on my shoulders, step on that little ledge right there, and pull yourself into the window," I instructed pointing at each step. "Do you think you can do that?"</p><p>She squinted her eyes at the window and said seriously, nodding her head, "Yeah, that'll be good. I'll be a ninja."</p><p>I let out a laugh and said, "Yes, you will. So, are you ready, Agent Nala?"</p><p>"I am." I bent down a bit so that she could climb clumsily onto my shoulders.</p><p>"Be careful!" I said to her with concern.</p><p>She nodded and I stood up, walking near the wall. She pulled herself onto the ledge before edging along it, jumping to grab onto the windowsill and pulling herself up with ease. She must be pretty strong.</p><p>I heard a shriek from inside the room.</p><p>"Shit," I cursed under my breath. There must be someone inside. I heard Nala begin to drunkenly apologize and I began to quickly climb the drain pipe, tumbling into the room.</p><p>"Another one!" the girl yelled, jumping back as I entered. I didn't recognize her immediately, but suddenly the name Perdia popped into my head, from Home Ec.</p><p>"I am so so sorry," Nala was saying, holding her hands out. I admit, she did look a little crazy with smudged makeup and tangled wings inside of a leather jacket.</p><p>"Sorry, we just needed a way to get in without passing Tremaine," I explained hurriedly, taking Nala by the shoulders and pushing her toward the door. "We are so sorry about this interruption. Carry on!"</p><p>We quickly slipped out of the room, leaving Perdita breathless. Once we slammed the door, Nala and I shared a look before bursting into raging laughter.</p><p>After we calmed down a bit, Nala and I walked towards the elevators. "Are you going back to your room?" I asked, holding her up with her arm around my shoulders as we entered the elevator. I was slightly hoping she would say no.</p><p>She began to nod but then her tired eyes widened. "I don't' have a key."</p><p>My heart skipped a beat at the thought of spending more time with her, even if she was drunk. "It's okay, you can stay at my place."</p><p>She looked up at me with teary eyes, all of a sudden. "Really?" she said breathlessly, pleading.</p><p>"Um, yeah?" I replied, confused by how big of a deal it was.</p><p>"Oh, thank you, Flynn!" she cried, crushing me in a hug.</p><p>I chuckled and patted her back. "It's really no problem."</p><p>She looked up at me, sniffling but smiling. "You really are the best." She gave me a kiss on the cheek, causing my heart to jump to my throat as I blushed.</p><p>We arrived on my floor and I led the way to my room, unlocking it. "Here," I said, fishing out a large tee shirt and some sweatpants. I handed them to her and she said a tired thank you. She began changing right then and there, so I rushed off to the bathroom to wet a washcloth for her makeup. I handed it to her and she smiled, but seemed too tired to do it herself so I took the cloth from her and began gently wiping at her face, the orange and black makeup smearing and eventually going away, as much as I could get it. I filled a glass of water for her.</p><p>"Thank...thanks you," she said, taking it and rubbing her eyes. She looked unlawfully cute, my tee shirt reaching down to the middle of her thighs and the sweatpants almost covering her feet. "Flynn, I love you," she said quietly. My heart stopped. I couldn't tell if she was saying that as a friend or not.</p><p>Whatever, i told myself firmly, shaking the thoughts away. It doesn't matter. She's drunk.</p><p>I cleared my throat and gave an uneasy, friendly laugh. "I love you too," I replied, forcing as much friendliness into my voice as possible. As a friend, I thought fiercely. Just as a friend.</p><p>Nala seemed satisfied with the answer. I pointed to my bed. "You can sleep there," I told her, looking around for some extra blankets.</p><p>She nodded and collapsed against the bed, falling asleep in mere minutes. I set up a makeshift bed on the ground for me. As I took one last look at Nala, my breath catching, a terrifying thought flashed through my head. I'm falling. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>LOTTIE</p><p>We strode into the mansion. It was smaller than mine, but it was Jasmine's back up one. There wasn't enough pink.</p><p>"Anastasia, spread as many rumors as you can. Maybe about some people hooking up</p><p>at this party, that'd be good. Got it?" Vanessa ordered, and Anastasia nodded hastily. "Lottie, carry on your assignment of learning about everyone. And I have a special task for you," she purred, an evil glint in her eye. I gulped.</p><p>She continued, "You have a thing for Tarzan, right?"</p><p>I blushed furiously, balling my fists. "And what makes you say that?" I asked, trying to deflect the question. I would not hurt Jane or Tarzan tonight.</p><p>"I'm not stupid, Charlotte. I know when someone as dumb as you has a crush. So. Today your dreams are going to come true. Spike his drink and kiss him. Use this pill. And make sure Jane sees." Vanessa, staring straight ahead, handed me a small plastic bag with a pink pill inside.</p><p>"What?" I cried, not taking it. "Vanessa, are you crazy?"</p><p>She snickered. "You're the one who hit me today. And now you're going to pay."</p><p>I grit my teeth. I could not hurt Jane or Tarzan. I couldn't. But somehow, Vanessa could hear my thoughts and she whipped around, grabbing my collar.</p><p>"If you don't pay now, I will make your life much, much worse. And I don't think you want that, now, do you? So I suggest you take this damn pill and go make out with your crush. Got it?" she said in a low voice, her sickly sweet breath washing over me and her eyes piercing mine. I nodded, terrified.</p><p>She pushed me away. "Good. We always get what we want, don't we, girls?" she said coldly, staring into the crowd as the others nodded. "Now, get in formation." Drizella and Marie fell in a bit behind her, and Anastasia and I behind them, forming an arrow shape. "Let's go."</p><p>We sauntered into the party, and people immediately began to gawk at us. I shifted uncomfortably in the revealing outfit Vanessa had chosen for us. Black heels, black fishnet tights, a leotard with a tight black corset over it. And of course, the cat ears and the nose and whiskers.</p><p>I immediately spotted Tarzan with his arm tenderly around Jane. I almost swooned right then and there. He was shirtless, only wearing black pants, suspenders, and a fireman hat. His muscles and abs looked rock hard, leaving me breathless as his chocolate dreadlocks seemed to flow in slow motion over his brawny shoulders. I fanned myself with my hand.</p><p>"Go take him," Vanessa muttered to me, and she snapped her fingers. She, Drizella, and Marie stalked over to a lonely looking Eric, whose eyes widened at the sight of her. Anastasia separated from us to slip through the crowd, unfortunately spreading hurtful rumors. I hoped she had the sense to keep them moderate, for everyone else's sake. I was left alone, facing the crowd. I would normally jump in to dance and have a good time, but I had a mission that I literally thought would be the death of me.</p><p>I can't do this. I won't hurt Tarzan, I won't hurt Jane. I glanced over at Vanessa who was glaring over at me, almost burning a hole in my perfectly curled blonde hair.</p><p>I had to. If I didn't, Vanessa would do it herself. She would hurt everyone I love. Besides, once I get deep enough into her scheming, I could tear her down and take revenge for all of the harm she's caused, including apologizing to Jane and Tarzan once this is over.</p><p>I took a deep breath, which was too difficult in this tight corset, and began walking over to the hot hunk of man in front of me. I watched as Jane said something to him, and he smiled and nodded as she kissed him on the cheek and walked away. This was my chance.</p><p>"Hey Tarzan," I purred, grinning.</p><p>He turned and smiled upon recognizing me, and if he was surprised of my outfit, he didn't make any comment about it. He was too perfect. "Hi Lottie! How are you?" he asked politely.</p><p>"Oh, I'm all right," I said, and I felt sick. I can't do this. I gripped the pill tighter in my fist. "You and Jane's costumes are really cute."</p><p>He blushed and looked over at Jane in the kitchen, who was chatting merrily with Wendy and Snow as she made a drink. His eyes were so adoring and filled with a tender love that caused my heart to feel like it was burning, ember by ember, and fizzling sadly to the ground. If only he could look at me like that. But he never would, especially after what I was about to do. "Thank you. It was Jane's idea," he said.</p><p>I hummed and nodded. "Um...so how is football going?" I asked, trying to calm my nerves. I kept one eye on Jane.</p><p>"It's good, I'm glad Mulan is back. She is a vital part of our team, and honestly it's even better when Gaston is gone," he told me with a smile.</p><p>I grinned back uneasily, my hands sweating. "And how is cheerleading and dance?" he asked me. God, he even remembered that I'm on those teams, even though I'm only an understudy.</p><p>I dropped the pill onto the ground.</p><p>"It's good, thank you! All of our competitions are going well!" I replied. I watched Jane excuse herself from her friends and begin making her way towards us.</p><p>I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," I whispered pathetically, before I grabbed his face and kissed him forcefully, screwing my eyes shut. Tarzan gasped and tried to move away, and I cursed myself into the depths of hell as I held on.</p><p>I finally let go, tears brimming my eyes as Tarzan stared at me with wide, betrayed eyes. I was ashamed. "Tarzan?" I heard Jane ask. We both turned to see her standing feet away, holding two red cups and tears already rolling down her cheeks.</p><p>"Jane," Tarzan breathed. "Jane, I --"</p><p>Jane dropped the cups, leaving soda splattered everywhere as she dashed away, disappearing into the crowd as she sobbed. Without hesitation, Tarzan sprinted after her. I was left there crying, hugging my arms and the guilt building up in me like a flame. How could I do this? Jane's hurt face replayed in my mind over and over again.</p><p>I let out a sob and began blindly running through drunk people, towards the nearest door. I ended up outside, where people milled about the pool. I spotted a nearby empty space in a chair by the pool. I walked over and collapsed into it, placing me head into my hands and I cried.</p><p>She would never forgive me. Jane is one of my best friends, and I blatantly betrayed her. For Vanessa, of all people! The girl I just slapped and called a bitch only hours ago, and I agreed to kiss my best friend's boyfriend for Vanessa's malicious, pointless ploys. I was a worthless friend. I was doing this all for the good of the school, but I was beginning to think that it was hurting them more than helping them. Every action led to more harm, and I didn't seem to get any information to destroy Vanessa from the inside out. I am a worthless, vile person.</p><p>"Lottie?" someone asked hesitantly, and I looked up, sniffling. Violet was standing there timidly, dressed as a simple bat. "Are you okay?"</p><p>"Oh, I'm fine, suga, don't mind me," I said quickly, waving her off and trying to muster a smile.</p><p>Violet sat down on the pool chair next to mine. "It, um, doesn't look like it. Do you wanna talk?"</p><p>I looked up at her, wiping my eyes. "Oh, Violet," I whimper. "I can't do this anymore."<br/>"The Vanessa thing?" she asked. Practically the whole school knew about my scheming, except for Vanessa herself.</p><p>I nodded. "She made me kiss Tarzan in front of Jane."</p><p>Violet's mouth dropped open. "Oh no," she said quietly. I nodded again.</p><p>"I just feel like this is all for nothin'," I confessed, dropping my hands to my knees. "I mean, I shouldn't have to keep hurtin' my friends just to get under Vanessa's skin! But now I can't walk away with nothin', since I've done so much to 'gain her trust,'" I rant, using air quotes. "It was a good idea from Tiana at first, but now...I can't do it anymore."</p><p>Violet reached out to rub my back comfortingly. "I don't think it's for nothing," she said softly. "I think that you'll be able to get her back soon. And I'm sure you can apologize to Jane, they'll understand."</p><p>I nodded sadly. "I just don't know how long I can stand it," I finished dejectedly.</p><p>Violet took a breath. "I know, I know. But you can always back out if you need to. Everyone would understand."</p><p>I smiled, wiping my cheeks again. "Thank you, Violet. You're a great friend," I said, and I engulfed her in a hug.</p><p>"Do you want to go back to my dorm? I'm not having the best time either," she suggested.</p><p>I laughed. But then I thought of how mad Vanessa would be if she found out I had left without getting any dirt on anyone and everyone. I brushed her sneering face out of my mind and nodded gratefully at Violet. She smiled and we left the party, arm in arm. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hey friends, i've got to keep this short because I've gotta go to bed, lol. new chapter, finally!</p><p>how do you feel about nala and flynn? cute or should just be friends? the idea came to me a while ago and they kept getting cuter and cuter to me, although i still like eugenzel. ahhh conflict! how do you feel about lottie doing vanessa's bidding, and kissing tarzan? will he and jane be able to make up? will lottie continue her mission?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Where do you live? Do you want to live somewhere else? (you obviously don't have to answer this, i'm just running out of questions and i would love to know where my readers come from!)</p><p>My Answer: i live in america in southern california! we are finally getting warmer weather, which is nice! though i always have wanted to live in Seattle, somewhere on the east coast, and of course practically anywhere in europe.</p>
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<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TARZAN</p><p>"Jane!" I shouted, watching as she pushed through the crowd. Not wasting a second, I ran after her, tears pricking my eyes. I can't lose her.</p><p>Why would Lottie do that? She's my friend, and she's an even better friend to Jane. How could she do that?</p><p>I caught a glimpse of Jane's spotted dog ears flapping toward the front door. I bolted to follow her as she stumbled, crying, onto the lawn. "Aw, honey, what's wrong?" one of the Atlantica sisters asked her with concern.</p><p>"Jane!" I yelled, getting nearer to her since she had stopped. She was a sobbing heap, and the sister, who I recognized as Adella rubbed her shoulder soothingly. She was dressed as Britney Spears.</p><p>Jane looked up at the sound of my voice, and her makeup was smudged by the flood of tears. My heart shattered as she tore her gaze away from me, burying her head into Adella's arms. "Jane, please," I begged, my voice cracking. "It wasn't me. I...I don't know what happened, Lottie just...grabbed me. I swear, Jane, I tried to get away. She wouldn't let go."</p><p>Jane barely acknowledged my words, and continued crying, though it has lightened up a bit. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.</p><p>"Jane," I said meagerly, my voice quiet and broken, "please."</p><p>There was no reply, as Jane sobbed quietly into her friend's shoulder as she pet her hair. Adella looked up at me with angry eyes. "I think you'd better go, Tarzan."</p><p>"No, I -" I began, wanting to stay with Jane.</p><p>"Tarzan," Adella said sternly, holding Jane tighter.</p><p>I held my tongue as tears silently fell down my cheeks. Watching Jane cry and refuse to look at me broke my heart, and I turned before I couldn't stand any longer. I walked away from the mansion, turning back to look at Jane one more time.</p><p>I shrugged on a jacket, cursing myself that I didn't give it to her. As I walked along the sidewalk, wiping away tears, I heard soft muttering and clacking heels. I looked up and saw two girls ahead of me, one in all black with her arm around the blonde. Lottie.</p><p>"Charlotte!" I called, running to catch up with them. She turned around, her makeup smudged too. I didn't recognize the girl next to her. She was dressed as a bat.</p><p>"Tarzan! Oh, I'm so glad to see you -"</p><p>"What was that?" I interrupted loudly, pointing back in the direction of the house.</p><p>She stumbled toward me desperately, putting her hands on my biceps. "Listen, Tarzan, I can explain everythin'."</p><p>I pushed her hands off my arms, trying not to bare my teeth. "Yeah, you'd better."</p><p>She looked hurt. "It is all Vanessa. Earlier, I kind of went off on her. She said some, really, really nasty stuff. And I got really angry and then she wanted me to pay for it. So she told me to kiss you in front of Jane. She gave me a pill to drug you, but I was definitely not going to do that. But I saw her watchin' me, and I knew she would hurt you even worse, so I had to kiss you. I am so so sorry, Tarzan. I never wanted to hurt you, at all. That was never my intention. I am so so sorry, I hope I can make it up to you. I will tell Jane, and explain everythin' to her as well."</p><p>I stood still for a while, contemplating what I had just heard. "Everything...was for Vanessa?" I asked, looking at the girl with her, who had effectively shrunken herself into the back of the conversation.</p><p>Lottie nodded earnestly. "Yes."</p><p>"Then why do you stay? I mean, I know it's for the good of the school, but if it hurts us too, then why stay?" I asked, trying to help and trying to calm down from my anger.</p><p>She looked as if she was thinking about it. "I don't have enough to walk away with. It would all be for nothin'."</p><p>I nodded. "Jane is crushed," I finally said quietly, looking down.</p><p>I saw Lottie's expression break as she hesitantly placed a comforting hand on my arm. "Tarzan, I am so sorry. I will explain everythin' to her and make it up to you two as much as possible. I will go back right now." She began marching away, balling her fists with purpose as her heels clomped angrily.</p><p>I caught her arm. "I think she wants to be left alone right now. But thank you." She nodded. "Come on, I'll walk you guys back. Oh, by the way, I'm Tarzan," I said to the bat girl.</p><p>Her dark eyes widened, as if she thought I hadn't noticed her. "Violet," she squeaked shyly, and I gave her the warmest smile I could muster. I didn't feel any happiness at all, however, and I replayed Jane's tearstained face all the way back to the dorm rooms. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MOANA</p><p>I took one last look at myself in the mirror. Rapunzel, Ariel, and Anna had left way earlier, but I guess I wanted to surprise them with my costume and make an entrance into the party. To be honest, I was still a little bitter about the whole costume situation with Punz and Ariel, but I knew that it had been for the better.</p><p>Right after the whole thing had went down, I had gone to the craft store and loaded up my cart with all the supplies I would need. Then, in my free time, I created the costume for Te Fiti, our goddess of life. I made a long, flowing green dress and had decorated it with greenery and flowers, and then added a wreath on my head. It looked amazing, if I did say so myself.</p><p>I soon arrived at the party. The house was huge and intimidating, as I made my way through drunk students on the lawn and inside, where music was rumbling through the floor. I tried to calm my queasy stomach. I tilted my chin up and strode into the crowd.</p><p>Immediately, people's heads turned. "Wow, Moana, you look great!" I heard someone say in awe, and I smiled a bit.</p><p>"A little modest, don't you think?" a voice said, and I glanced over to see Drizella muttering to Marie, dressed in hardly any clothes to portray black cats. I rolled my eyes and continued walking, looking for my friends.</p><p>"Moana!" a familiar voice called, and I turned to see Anna and Kristoff hurrying towards me, dressed adorably as Shaggy and Scooby. "Moana! Wow, you look...incredible!" Anna gasped, reaching out to touch one of the leaves. Her eyes were wide.</p><p>"You do," Kristoff agreed, and I smiled and thanked them both.</p><p>"But, no offense, what exactly are you?" another male voice said, and I turned to see Jack and Elsa looking at me with a smirk. My heart skipped. Elsa looked beautiful, in a twisted sort of way. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, and a beret, and she held a fake gun. Jack was in a suit with suspenders, also with a gun. They were both covered in fake blood.</p><p>I smiled. "I am Te Fiti, our goddess of life to my people," I explained. "And what about you?"</p><p>"Oh, we're Bonnie and Clyde," Elsa told me, smiling at Jack. I nodded in understanding.</p><p>"Well, have any of you guys seen Ariel?" I asked, wanting to talk to her and slightly wanting to gloat about my costume (only slightly).</p><p>"I think she was in the bathroom. Down the hall, third on the right," Anna told, me trying to remember.</p><p>I nodded in thanks, and the two couples began a conversation as I slipped away. I searched through the house, making my way through the maze of this giant house. Finally, I spotted a door. I thought I heard Ariel muttering to herself inside. "I can't do it...No, yes I can. It can't be that hard, right?"</p><p>I knocked quietly. "Who is it?" she said.</p><p>"It's me, Moana."</p><p>"Oh, come in," she said, and I slowly opened the door. Even the bathroom was magnificent. There was a large circular tub near the wall, the shower was filled with candles and even a bench. There were two modern looking sinks and mirrors, and there were plenty of fancy looking products placed neatly on the counter. Ariel smiled at the sight of me. "Moana, you look great!"</p><p>I smiled, but she was even more stunning. She was wearing a red tube top and a red skirt, alone with heels and perfect red lipstick. It made her bright red hair pop even more. I blushed. "Thank you, so do you. Um, is everything okay?"</p><p>She shook her head. "I am trying to decide whether I should talk to Eric or not."</p><p>"Oh." My face fell. "Um, he's here?"</p><p>She nodded. "And he's dressed as Danny from Grease. It must have been Vanessa who made him."</p><p>"Well, um, maybe he's busy with Vanessa?" I said, trying to seem subtle. I didn't want her to leave.</p><p>"I saw Vanessa with  Naveen, so it's now or never." She looked so hopeful, smiling at me with nervous eyes.</p><p>I looked down. Who was I to try to stop her from talking to her crush? I was being selfish. If I truly wanted her to be happy, then I would give her the best advice I could. "Well, then go for it!" I said with new vigor. "Go, um, knock his socks off."</p><p>Ariel giggled. "Thanks, Mo." She walked over to hug me. I wrapped my arms around her, holding on tightly. I didn't want to let go, but I felt like I already had. "Wish me luck!"</p><p>I smiled. "Good luck, Ari!" I said happily, and she clapped and left the bathroom, leaving me alone.</p><p>I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror. Then I walked out of the bathroom as well, walking into the kitchen. I grabbed myself a quick drink and walked out to the backyard. I sat down on the grass, near the pool. The music muffled, and I focused on the water.</p><p>"Mo?" someone asked, and I looked up. Rapunzel was standing above me, looking literally angelic with a sparkling halo surrounding her blonde head.</p><p>"Oh, hi, Punz," I sighed, turning back to the water.</p><p>"Is everything okay?" she asked, sitting down beside me.</p><p>"It's just Ariel," I murmured hopelessly, taking a sip of my drink.</p><p>"Oh," Rapunzel said in complete understanding. She rubbed my back soothingly. "Do you want to rant or do you want advice?"</p><p>I thought for a moment. "I mean, do you think I will ever have a chance? Be completely honest," I added, giving her a meaningful look.</p><p>She bit her lip and looked at the ground for a moment before coming up with her answer. "Okay... I think the only you'd be able to get with her is for her to get over Eric, or for her to date Eric, break up, and then get over him. Both of which would take a very long time."</p><p>I nodded dejectedly. "I mean, I sort of had this coming, right? I should just get over her now," I agreed sadly, trying so hard not to picture Ariel's smiling face and shining blue eyes and heavenly voice. It didn't work.</p><p>Rapunzel began to say something, and I could sense the pity radiating off of her. I didn't want it, though. I had dug myself into this hole, now it was time to get out of it. Though that will be difficult, considering I was with her almost 24/7. We sat there in silence for a very long while. Eventually, Punz spoke up. "Your costume looks incredible."</p><p>I smiled a bit. "Thanks." Coming from her, it meant a lot.</p><p>"I'm really, really sorry about the costume thing that happened a while ago," she apologized sincerely. "We - I-"</p><p>I stopped her. "No, it's okay," I said truthfully. "I get it. I guess I will also have to accept the fact that I will always sort of be the outcast of the group."</p><p>Rapunzel's face was shocked, hurt even. "What?" she said in disbelief, placing a hand on my arm. "Mo, why would you say that?"</p><p>I gave a half-hearted laugh and shrugged her hand off of me. "It's sort of obvious, right? You guys had a whole year to get to know each other before I came late. It's sort of a given that I'm not as much of the group."</p><p>Rapunzel laughed. "Mo, I don't even remember what our group was like without you. It feels like you've been here for forever, and we love you so much, okay? I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come along. Honestly, I think we used to be pretty boring."</p><p>I laughed, a real smile coming to my face. "Thank you, Punz. I am really glad that I found you guys as friends."</p><p>She smiled, giving me a hug. "Of course. Now, how about we go show off your costume and some of your dance moves, huh?"</p><p>I giggled and nodded, and she helped me up before walking back into the party, arm in arm. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ESMERALDA</p><p>I watched the crowd as they danced to the loud music, chuckling at their drunken and smiling states. "Hello again," someone said to me, and I turned around. The guy was blond, wearing an elaborate blue guard costume, a hat with a feather, and a mask.</p><p>I raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"</p><p>The guy smiled and took off the mask, waving his hands with a flourish. He did look familiar, but I couldn't quite place a name. I continued looking at him with confusion. He rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, come on, you really don't remember me?" he asked.</p><p>When I shook my head, he scoffed and then swept his hat into a low bow. "Phoebus de Châteaupers, at your service once more."</p><p>My green eyes widened in realization. That annoying guy from game night, of course! "Oh, yeah!" I said, pointing at him.</p><p>He smiled at the prospect of me remembering him. "So, are you enjoying the party?" he asked, standing close to me and also surveying the crowd.</p><p>I sighed. "It's all right. I have to leave early, though, since I have a long dance rehearsal tomorrow."</p><p>"Oh, right, you're a dancer!" he said. Then he knitted his eyebrows together. "Then why aren't you out on the dance floor? Show them what you can do, and maybe be a little less professional?" he said with a smirk, and I gagged.</p><p>"Conserving my energy," I replied shortly. I really didn't want to be talking to him right now, so I started looking around for Milo.</p><p>"Oh, that makes sense." We stood there for a few minutes, Phoebus bopping his head to the rhythm. I didn't know how to escape, and was growing increasingly uncomfortable.</p><p>He cleared his throat, and I dreaded what he was going to say next. "So, I was, uh, wondering if you'd like to go -"</p><p>I suddenly spotted a familiar short figure a few feet away, standing alone by the wall. That was one face I could remember from game night. My spirits immediately lifted as I raised my arm and called out to him. "Quasimodo!"</p><p>He looked up. He was wearing a black cloak and half of a white mask over his face. I smiled as I recognized him from the Phantom of the Opera. Quasi grinned as Phoebus sputtered beside me, and Quasi joined us. "Hey, Esmeralda! How are you?"</p><p>"I'm good, how are you?"</p><p>"Good! I love the costume!" I smiled. I had dressed as a gypsy, just as I do every year.</p><p>"You too! Phantom?" Quasi grinned and nodded, before noticing Phoebus who was practically trembling with anger beside me. I had no regrets for cutting him off, I was not about to be pressured to go on a date with Phoebus de Whatever-His-Name-Is.</p><p>"Oh, I don't think we've met. Quasimodo Frollo," Quasi introduced himself warmly, holding out his hand.</p><p>Phoebus rudely ignored it as he scrunched up his nose. "Ugh, Frollo? That guy sucks. And he's your dad?"</p><p>Quasi dropped his hand, his face falling with it. "He's not that bad. He's treated me well and everything," he said quietly.</p><p>I wanted to punch Phoebus. "Hey, want to get us some drinks?" I asked him with a sickly sweet smile.</p><p>Phoebus looked into my eyes, and I held the contact just to try to get him to go away. "Sure!" he said enthusiastically, and he stole away toward the kitchen.</p><p>I grabbed Quasi's hand and pushed through the crowd, ending up in the dining room. It was elegant but modern at the same time, a ridiculously long table decorated with expensive cutlery and plates. Quasi was laughing, out of breath, and it caused the mask to crinkle a little bit, revealing a small portion of his deformed face. I returned the smile. "Sorry, I wanted to get away from him."</p><p>"No, completely understandable," he replied with a laugh, waving his hands in dismissal.</p><p>I grinned at him and we stood there for a while, admiring the beautiful room. "So!" Quasi said, breaking the silence and rocking back and forth on his heels. I looked towards him. "Are you going to be in the talent show? You are an incredible dancer."</p><p>I smiled at the compliment. "Thanks. But I don't think I'll have enough time or energy to choreograph a whole solo. I have a lot to do for the musical and dance competitions and such."</p><p>Quasi nodded, but he seemed a little put down. "Why? Are you going to be in it?"</p><p>He looked up and nodded. "Well, I was planning on it," he explained. "I was going to do a magic act, but I can't find someone to be an assistant."</p><p>I grinned. "Like those ones who wear sparkly dresses, smile, and get sawed in half?"</p><p>Quasi laughed. "Yeah, sort of."</p><p>I made a split second decision, walking toward him. "I guess I could do it. I mean, if all I have to do is look pretty and lie in a box."</p><p>Quasi laughed again, but he looked hopeful. "I mean, that's not all you would do..."</p><p>"Well, then give me times and places for practices and I'll be there. Well as long as I don't have rehearsal or dance class. But otherwise, I'll be there."</p><p>He smiled. "Really? Oh, that'd be great! Thank you so much, Esmeralda!" He gave me a tight hug, which I returned with a warmth in my heart.</p><p>"Quasimodo!" a guy shouted from the crowd, and we both turned. Hans, Adam, John, and Gaston were waiting for him with sneers on their faces. I balled my fists. They couldn't be good news.</p><p>Quasi looked back at me with an apologetic look. "Sorry, my friends need me."</p><p>I gave them an unconvinced look, because Adam had whispered something to them that had caused them to burst into roaring laughter. "Are you sure they're your friends?" I asked.</p><p>"Um...I don't know. But either way, I have to go."</p><p>Hesitantly, I replied, "Okay. But text me when you want to practice?"</p><p>"I don't have your number." We hurriedly swapped phones and put our numbers in, before Quasimodo bid me goodbye and left, earning hard slaps on the back from his "friends." I sighed.</p><p>Suddenly, my phone buzzed. Milo's face appeared next to a frantic text message. <br/>Where are you?</p><p>I sighed, and told him I was coming. I knew he would be in the front. I walked there, slipping through the crowd and found him nervously talking to Kida, who was dressed as Daenerys. "Come on," I said to him, grabbing his hand and leading the way home. We got into the dorm building and I said, "We're going to my room." We disappeared inside. So much for conserving my energy tonight.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hi y'all! how's everyone feeling? i'm doing great, i'm finally on spring break! do you think jane and tarzan will end up okay? will moana be able to truly let go of ariel? how do you think the talent show will go? esmeralda has three guys: phoebus, quasi, and milo. how do you think that will play out?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite ship from this book exclusively? i'm trying to include more of people's favorites!</p><p>My Answer: Gislan, Megcules, Milo x Esmeralda, Kristanna, Mariel... thats about it. i think. idk</p>
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<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NALA</p><p>I opened my eyes a bit, flinching at the harsh light. My head was pounding, and my stomach was very, very queasy. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut.</p><p>"Good morning," a familiar voice said. "Here, take this."</p><p>I opened my eyes again to see Flynn, sitting on the floor and holding out a glass of water and some ibuprofen tablets to me. I gratefully took them and swallowed them quickly.</p><p>Holding my head in my hands, I looked around. Another figure, who I recognized as Tramp because of his ashy brown hair, was snoring in the bed opposite me. The room was pretty bland, a little messy except for one side, which had a perfectly made bed. "Where am I?" I asked, dazed. </p><p>Flynn chuckled. "Welcome to my crib. Well, it's also Tramp's, Quasi's, and Phoebus's."</p><p>I squinted at him. "Why are you on the floor?" I finally noticed that he was covered in thin blankets and had one measly pillow. He laughed at me.</p><p>"You're in my bed, silly."</p><p>I groaned at him in annoyance. "Flynn! You should have made me sleep on the floor!"</p><p>He scoffed. "No way. So, are you feeling okay? Do you remember anything?"</p><p>I thought long and hard, but it started to make my head throb again. "I just remember...walking into the party and feeling really uncomfortable. And then I talked to Meg and Jasmine. Gaston tried to make a move on me, I think, but uh-- you saved me. And then....that's it." I blushed a little, playing with the soft blanket. It smelled like him.</p><p>"Nothing else?" Flynn asked. There was a slight note of urgency in his voice, causing me to look up. "Nothing important?"</p><p>"What? Should I be remembering more?" I asked, trying to rack my brain but everything came back fuzzy.</p><p>Flynn hesitated, our eyes locked. Finally, he looked away. "No. No, nothing else really happened. Nothing important, anyway." He sounded disappointed, but I quickly moved on as Tramp shot up in bed. His brown skin was covered in sweat, he was breathing hard with wide dark eyes.</p><p>Flynn immediately jumped up and hurried to Tramp's bedside. "Hey, hey, hey, it's just a nightmare, right?" Flynn squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, sitting down with him and murmuring comforting words until Tramp's breathing went down to normal. I felt like I was trespassing on something as I watched silently, a bit frightened myself and hugging my knees to my chest.</p><p>As soon as Tramp was okay, he seemed to notice me for the first time. His eyes went wide again before they narrowed, and he threw his covers off and stomped out of the room, to the showered, I presumed.</p><p>Flynn gave me an apologetic look and then went over to his dresser, pulling out some clothes. "What...was that?" I stuttered.</p><p>Flynn sighed, and didn't look at me. "Tramp has frequent nightmares. I don't know what they're about, but almost every night he wakes up in a cold sweat. He doesn't want anyone to know, so don't tell a soul, okay?" he demanded harshly, looking angrily back at me.</p><p>I flinched. "Of course not."</p><p>"Sorry. He just...I've gotta protect him." Flynn came over to sit on my bed -- well, his bed, I suppose. "He's an orphan too. I mean, we grew up together, you know?" I nodded along. I actually didn't know they had grown up together. I knew they were good friends, and I knew they were both orphans, but not kind-of-brothers in any way.</p><p>Flynn sighed and pushed himself to stand again.</p><p>"I don't want to go to school," I whined, pulling the nice-smelling blankets around me.</p><p>"Too bad, we have that lecture in Frederickson today. I'll take notes for you though, but you've gotta be there. You know how he says things that aren't even in the book or anything. Do you want to go to your dorm to get changed or no?"</p><p>I took a deep breath as we exited that sort of intimate conversation. "I mean, I don't have any clothes --"</p><p>"Wear this." All of a sudden, a comfy-looking pair of sweats and a large tee shirt were chucked at my face. I didn't even bother trying to dodge them, knowing that it would hurt my head to do so. </p><p>I picked them up. "Really?"</p><p>Flynn gave me a sarcastic look. "No, I let you sleep in my bed and my pajamas, I took off your makeup but I'm not going to lend you clothes for the day. Yes really!"</p><p>I laughed, and stood up before stopping abruptly. "You took off my makeup?"</p><p>He scoffed as he went into the bathroom to change. "Yeah. It's not that hard."</p><p>We both changed in the separate rooms. The black sweatpants were huge but some of the most heavenly things I have ever worn, and the shirt was actually pretty cute. People were going to flip when they noticed I wasn't in a perfectly planned outfit today.</p><p>"Here, extra toothbrush," he said, also tossing that at me. I caught it and went into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face. "You can use some of my face wash!" he called from the other room. I looked on the counter, and there was Neutrogena face wash.</p><p>"You wash your face?" I asked in surprise, picking it up.</p><p>"Well, yeah! There has to be a way to keep this beautiful skin crystal clear!" he cried back. I laughed and used it, thanking myself for having short hair so that I didn't have to style it.</p><p>Flynn and I left his room after I texted Jasmine to ask her to bring my backpack to the cafeteria, as we were already running a little late. I took it gratefully from her, and then Flynn and I hurried to school, laughing. I said goodbye to him and disappeared into my homeroom with Mr. Skellington.</p><p>As I sat absently in my seat, I began thinking. What was so important that I couldn't remember from last night? And why was Flynn so disappointed that I couldn't? What had I done?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>LOTTIE</p><p>In the morning, the first thing I did was whip out my custom pink crystal encrusted iPhone to text Jane. </p><p>I smiled and set off with Tiana to the cafeteria</p><p>I smiled and set off with Tiana to the cafeteria. I didn't want to tell her what Vanessa had said about her, even though I had hit her afterward.</p><p>All I could think about was Tarzan...and Jane, of course. Lord, I just hoped they would forgive me. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I walked into the cafe right after school to find Tarzan already there, sitting anxiously. I blushed as I walked up to him, my heels clacking on the floor. "Hey, Tarzan," I said with a smile.</p><p>He looked up with a start before smiling. "Oh, hi, Lottie. Um, I got you a strawberry smoothie, since you always have them on campus."</p><p>My knees felt like they were going to buckle. He notices me! I tried to play it off cool. "Oh, thank you, honey! That is so sweet! Here, let me pay you back for that," I said, sitting down and beginning to fish for my wallet. My purse was so full, I don't know how I ever find anything in there.</p><p>"No, no," he cut in. "My treat. Thanks for doing this."</p><p>I scoffed. "How could I not! You two are my friends, I couldn't just leave you hangin'."</p><p>Just then, the bell tinkled as the door opened, and we both glanced up to see Jane walk in. She looked a bit rough, with no makeup and sweats and a tee shirt. She narrowed her eyes as soon as she spotted Tarzan. He immediately stood up.</p><p>Jane huffed and stomped over to me. "I didn't know he was going to be here," she muttered angrily.</p><p>I gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, suga. But it's for your own good."</p><p>Jane rolled her eyes and sat on a bean bag. "Um, I got you a tea," Tarzan said nervously, holding out the mug for her.</p><p>She eyed him but took it, saying a quiet thank you. I cleared my throat, trying to break the tension between us. "So, thank you for comin', Jane. I'm glad you're givin' me a chance to explain myself."</p><p>Tarzan sat intently, giving me his full attention. Jane just patiently sipped her tea. "I want to start off by sayin' it was never my intention to hurt you guys."</p><p>Jane scoffed a bit, but I could tell she was trying really hard to come off as angry and rude. "I would never do that under any circumstance, but for Vanessa."</p><p>Jane gasped. "You did it for Vanessa?" I nodded and took a deep breath, preparing to explain myself.</p><p>"Before the party she said some really nasty things about people of color and Tiana, specifically. So I kind of went off on her, and she got really angry. She wanted me to pay by hurtin' you two. At first, she gave me a pill to drug Tarzan, but I knew that that would just take it to a whole nother level. But I saw her lookin' at me, and I had to do somethin'. So I kissed Tarzan." At this moment, I gave an especially sorry look at Jane. She was now sitting up, listening closely to my story.</p><p>I continued. "I knew if I didn't do anythin', that she would make life so much worse for you guys. I am so, so sorry. I hope you can forgive me, and I will do anythin' to make it up to you." I finished my speech with pleading eyes, trying not to linger on Tarzan's face for too long. I couldn't stop the butterflies in my stomach when I was around him.</p><p>Jane sighed and put down her mug. I waited anxiously, in an excruciating moment before she said, "Of course I forgive you, Lottie."</p><p>My face split into a grin. "Oh, my goodness!" I shrieked, throwing my arms out and going to embrace her tightly. "Thank you, thank you! You are just the best!" <br/>I went to hug Tarzan too, and the feeling of his muscled arms around me made me grow hotter. When I sat back down, Jane said excitedly, "So Tarzan and I can still be together?" She looked at him with such awe and love, and he returned it equally. It made my heart ache.</p><p>I hesitated in answering. "I... don't think so. Not just yet. If you get back together immediately, Vanessa will suspect somethin', and it will all have been for nothin'. It's best to keep it on the down low, for now. Wait until she finds another...target." I cringed at the words I was saying.</p><p>Jane and Tarzan's faces fell. "Oh. So like a secret relationship?" she asked, already lacing her hand in Tarzan's. I watched. Their hands did fit really well together.</p><p>"Yes, I suppose so. I'll notify you as soon as you can be open about it again," I promised, nodding.</p><p>Jane smiled. "Thank you, Lottie."</p><p>I shook my head. "No problem. I love you guys!"</p><p>The couple smiled and resolved to walk out of the cafe at separate times, in case Vanessa was around. As Tarzan waited, he turned to me. It almost seemed that he had tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered, and enveloped me in a gentle but affectionate hug.</p><p>I squeaked, caught by surprise and making sure he couldn't feel my pounding heart against his hard, strong chest...</p><p>He let go, smiled at me, and left the cafe, leaving me completely alone with my pink smoothie. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>I stepped out of the dorm building to head to my favorite store in the world: Scuttle's Antiques. Scuttle himself has been a long time family friend, and luckily his little antique shop was just a few blocks from school.</p><p>I stepped into the familiar building. Immediately, I was met with familiar sights of crowded, colorful knickknacks covering every possible surface. I looked around in awe, picking up an object labeled a "gizmo." Upon opening it, I recognized it as a pocket watch. Scuttle always had a love for naming objects silly things. I could never tell if he was joking or not, and sometimes it seemed that he didn't even know how to use mundane things. He even convinced me once, as a child, that a fork was called a dinglehopper, and that you used it to comb your hair. I figured out its real purpose eventually, but now I liked to stick small ones in my hair. They did make a cute accessory.</p><p>Lost in thought as I browsed the store, I didn't realize someone come out from the back room. "Is that Ariel?" I heard an enthusiastic voice cry, and I jumped. I turned to see Scuttle. He had crazy grey hair, and today he was wearing a patterned Hawaiian shirt with a checkered navy vest over, finished with a seagull pin.</p><p>"Scuttle!" I said happily, running behind the counter to hug him.</p><p>"Ah, sweetheart, I haven't seen you in forever!" he said, shaking my shoulders and causing me to giggle.</p><p>"I'm sorry. Things have been pretty...dramatic at school," I replied truthfully.</p><p>He nodded as if he knew what I was talking about, though I was pretty sure he'd hadn't been to a real school before. "Well, let me show you all the new stuff we got -" he started, beginning to show me around the store. But I stopped him.</p><p>"Although I am interested, I need to leave in a few minutes. I have a thing to get to, and I just want to get a present for a...friend," I said, thinking of Eric.</p><p>"Ah, I know just the thing!" Scuttle said matter-of-factly, raising a finger and going over to the opposite end of the store. Rummaging through some items, he eventually pulled out what looked like a potato peeler.</p><p>"I call it a oolamajig!" he said proudly, holding it up as if it were a trophy.</p><p>I giggled, placing a hand over my mouth. I went over to join him. "It is nice, Scuttle," I told him, admiring it in my hands, "but not exactly what I'm looking for. What else?"</p><p>He nodded seriously, threw the peeler over his shoulder and went to another portion of the store, humming to himself and looking determinedly for something that seemed to be very important. "A-ha!" he cried, holding it up. It looked like a small cylinder, with a window at the end. I stepped forward with curiosity, studying it.</p><p>"What is it?" I asked as he handed it to me.</p><p>"A doolywop," he replied, dusting his hands off.</p><p>I nodded, although I knew that wasn't exactly what it was called.</p><p>"Here, allow me to demonstrate," he said, taking the doolywop from me. Scuttle suddenly extended it, multiple levels appearing and starting me. He then put the big end on one of his eyes. "ARIEL!" he shouted, waving. "HOW YOU DOING, KID?" I laughed and he handed it to me. I did the same, and all of a sudden Scuttle was a few yards away.</p><p>"Wow! That's so cool! You're right, Scuttle, this is perfect! Thank you!" I said, running up to the counter to pay for it.</p><p>"Ah, no problem." I paid for it, half off, and bid goodbye to my friend, setting off towards the Hundred Acre Wood, a bookstore. Eric was already sitting at one of the cafe tables, looking perfect as ever. I bit my lip, hoping I wasn't late.</p><p>I took a deep breath for confidence and walked up to the table, smiling. "Hey, Ariel!" he said, standing up and giving me a hug. I wanted to squeal. "Here, have a seat." He pulled out a chair for me, and I grinned.</p><p>"Hi. Um, I brought a present for you," I said nervously. I pulled the doolywop from my bag and handed it to him, as it was carefully wrapped in colorful tissue paper.</p><p>"What? Ariel, you didn't have to do that," he said with a laugh. He hesitated, but accepted the present, tearing open the wrapping paper. "Wow, a telescope!"</p><p>So that's what it's called.</p><p>Eric extended it and put the small end to his eye, the opposite of what Scuttle did. I looked at him quizzically. "That is so cool! Thank you, Ariel!" he said happily, giving me an appreciative grin. I blushed and pushed some hair behind my ears.</p><p>"Um, so. I just thought I could get to know you, for the song. Um, where did you grow up?" Eric began, pulling out a pencil and paper.</p><p>I blushed again and cleared my throat. It was kind of complicated. "Um. the ocean?"</p><p>Eric raised his eyebrows. "I, um, actually am a half mermaid. I lived in the ocean with my sisters until I was seven, and then we were given legs to live on land. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true."</p><p>Eric was gaping now. Oh no, I hope I didn't scare him off! "That is...amazing!" he exclaimed, almost giving me a heart attack at the slowness of his answer. I released a breath and gave a shaky smile.</p><p>"You think?"</p><p>"Yeah! So that's why you're such a good swimmer?" he asked in awe. I blushed more. Gosh, if I kept this up I would turn into a permanent red crab.</p><p>"Well, I guess swimming has always been in my genes," I explained. "But I don't cheat or anything! I only get my tail back if I want it to."</p><p>"Wow. That's just...wow. Okay. Moving on. What was life like as a kid?"</p><p>We continued getting to know each other. I told him about always wanting to be a part of the human world, about my collection of human things, about Scuttle and his little items and names, about my sisters, about my father and his protective ways. After the two hours was over, I felt like I had poured my whole life out in front of Eric, my crush, to just take advantage of. I had never told anyone any of these thoughts or feelings, none of my friends or sisters.</p><p>As he began packing up, Eric said, "I think I already have some ideas for lyrics."</p><p>"Really?" I said in astonishment.</p><p>He nodded. "How about if I come up with anything, I'll send you a melody? Maybe to ask if some lyrics feel right? Here, put your number in."</p><p>I lost my breath as he handed me his phone. It was a simple navy blue case, and my fingers shook as I typed in my number. I hoped they didn't leave sweat on the screen.</p><p>"Great!" he said, with that dazzling smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, in rehearsal?"</p><p>"Yeah!" I said happily, smiling back.</p><p>"See you later, Ariel!" he said charmingly, leaving the bookstore. I was speechless again. Then, I squealed a bit, spinning around in a circle. Realizing I was getting odd looks, I gave a nervous chuckle before skipping my way home.</p><p>Bursting into the dorm room, I cried out, "He's perfect!"</p><p>I noticed Moana was only there, lying on her bed and listening to music. She took out her earphones. "Eric?"</p><p>"Yes, duh! He's just so....perfect!" I emphasized, falling onto my bed, starstruck. My phone buzzed and my heart leapt with it. Was Eric texting me already?</p><p>I know you gave him your number, fishface. You'd better watch your back.</p><p>My stomach dropped. This couldn't be good. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hey y'all! how was your holiday weekend, if you celebrated anything? I wrote this chapter all in one sitting, are you proud of me?</p><p>nala doesn't remember kissing flynn, and he seems a little upset about it. do you think anything will happen between them, now that she's sober? and what is with tramp's nightmares? how much of everyone's past do we not know about? it's good that jane forgave lottie, but now they have to stay secret for a while. do you think lottie will do more hurtful things for vanessa? do you ship tarzan and jane, or tarzan and lottie? and finally, who do you think sent that text to ariel? will this result in bad news? will ariel and eric ever get the chance to get together? will their talent show act go well? tune in next time (or maybe in a chapter or two) to find out!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What are your favorite TV shows?</p><p>My Answer: friends, the chilling adventures of sabrina, carmen sandiego, the office, greys anatomy ( actually i haven't watched that in a while), miraculous ladybug, once upon a time, THAT 70S SHOW, gilligans island, i dream of jeannie, brady bunch, happy days, doctor who, sherlock</p>
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<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>GISELLE</p><p>I skipped towards the theater for rehearsals, humming all the way. Things have been going wonderfully in my life at the moment. Yes, I had broken up with Edward, but we remained best friends. It felt like he was the only person who wasn't annoyed by me, and who liked me. I had a small amount of friends, and I felt especially comfortable with Edward.</p><p>I felt my shoulder accidentally bump into someone else's. "Oops! Sorry!" I said, turning to apologize. I suddenly felt blood rushing to my cheeks. My eyes widened at a face I hadn't seen for three weeks, and my heart soared. "Mulan!" I breathed, beaming.</p><p>She looked happy, but then her expression changed to someone who was uncomfortable. "Hey, Giselle!"</p><p>I wrapped her in an enthusiastic hug, the familiar smell of vanilla filling my nose. But she remained stiff and cold. I gave her a confused look. Why was she acting like this? "Are you okay?" I asked with concern.</p><p>She looked away. "Yeah, I just...have been thinking about what happened a few weeks ago." She was trying not to blush, and she wouldn't meet my eyes.</p><p>"Me too," I replied truthfully, trying not to let my excitement bubble up too much. "I mean...was it okay?"</p><p>Her eyes widened. "Yeah! No, it was, um, great. I was really happy. I told my friend Merida about it — I hope you don't mind—" I shook my head. Maybe she had been looking for relationship advice! "Um, I was just wondering...did you use me as a rebound?"</p><p>I furrowed my brows. "What?" I asked in confusion. I thought she had been as happy as I was that day. It had seemed like it.</p><p>"You had just broken up with Edward, and I just figured that you were using me as a rebound kinda," she explained, rubbing her arm.</p><p>My mouth dropped open. I would never even think of using Mulan for any reason! "No! No, Mulan, that's not what it was like. Not at all. I would never do that, okay?"</p><p>She nodded, starting to laugh it off. "So..." she started, blushing again and rubbing her arm. "You like me?"</p><p>I smiled, studying her face as if I wouldn't see her for a while.</p><p>"What?" she asked, and I could practically see a question mark forming above her face. She could never hide her feelings, and it's adorable. </p><p>Not answering, I giggled and rose on my toes, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "See you later, Mulan," I said quietly, smiling.</p><p>I turned on my toes and skipped back to the theater, my stomach twirling like a dancing ballerina.</p><p>I entered the dark theater with a big grin on my face. "Giselle!" Edward cried from the empty stage. Grease rehearsals didn't start for another hour, so we were using it along with Quasimodo and Esmeralda to practice our talent show act. "Oh, at last. Tell me, do you know if Kocoum is on the market?" he asked as I walked up the stairs.</p><p>I giggled, trying as hard as I could to get my mind off of Mulan. "No, he's dating Nakoma. Why?"</p><p>Edward huffed, dramatically blowing a tuft of his brown hair off his forehead. "It seems like all the hot guys are taken — except me, of course."</p><p>I pondered that for a moment. "What about Kuzco?" He was the only out gay person I could think of.</p><p>Edward rolled his eyes. "Please, Giselle. He is outrageously conceited, there's no way I could deal with that."</p><p>I laughed, but didn't point out his hypocrisy. We began practice, and soon Quasi and Esmeralda walked in and we split the stage with them. Edward and I ran our duet together, a song that we always sang to each other while we were dating, but I had a feeling that we were both thinking about a different person this time around.</p><p>I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss<br/>And a prince I'm hoping comes with this<br/>That's what brings ever-aftering so happy</p><p> </p><p>MULAN</p><p>I stood there in the middle of the hall, dumbstruck. My hand brushed over the cheek that Giselle had just kissed. I could've been standing there for a few seconds, maybe several minutes before I realized I was going to be late to meeting Shang.</p><p>I ran towards the gym, skillfully dodging around a few people. I made it to the gym, panting, where Shang was waiting. "Hey, Mulan!" he said cheerfully, already wrapping his hands.</p><p>"Hi Shang. Sorry I'm late, I got caught up with...something," I told him, setting down my bag and also fishing out my handwraps.</p><p>He quirked an eyebrow at me, glancing up from his knuckles. "Something? Or someone?"</p><p>I froze, blushing. "Possibly..." I answered, going back to my knuckles hastily.</p><p>Shang chuckled, but did not press it any further.</p><p>We stood up and began our practice, warming up before beginning kicking and punching, dodging and ducking. After an hour, I was sweating buckets, especially right under my boobs. Sitting down, we toweled off our sweat and unwrapped our sore knuckles.</p><p>I sighed, wishing I had worn my binder today. "Something wrong?" Shang asked.</p><p>I glanced up and hesitated a bit. "Do you ever feel like you're...in the wrong body? Like you don't belong?"</p><p>Shang laughed a bit. "That's called an existential crisis, Mulan. They're completely normal," he told me with a twinkle in his eye.</p><p>I laughed. "No, not like that. I mean, I feel like...I'm not meant to be in this body. I talked to Kida about it, and she gave me a binder. She told me to maybe try going by different pronouns."</p><p>"Oh, like...do you think you're transgender?"</p><p>I pondered. "I honestly have no idea. But, I mean, it doesn't hurt to try, right?"</p><p>"No, yeah, of course. Do what you've gotta do. Want me to call you by a male name today?" Shang asked kindly as we packed up.</p><p>I smiled. Of course I could trust him. Shang is one of my best friends, and he would never judge me. I stuttered, thinking of the most recent Chinese male name I had heard. "Ping?" I suggested, uncertain.</p><p>Shang held back a snort. "You know that means your name is Fa Ping? Chinese for 'flower vase?'"</p><p>My brain froze, as it did in fact mean flower vase. But, I remained stubborn and looked him defiantly in the eye. "Yeah. So? I like it."</p><p>Shang smiled and shrugged. "All right, Ping. Whatever you say."</p><p>I smiled, and we walked over to our normal smoothie shop. With a new, temporary and completely silly name, it was male. I felt different. I felt better. </p><p> </p><p>TINK</p><p>I finished up my makeup by adding the finishing touch of shimmery lip gloss, stepping out of the bathroom into our door. Alice was still engulfed in her blankets, even though it was four o'clock on a Saturday. "Alice, you up?" I asked, grabbing my purse.</p><p>She groaned, turning over and squeezing her eyes shut, burrowing deeper into her bed. "Five more minutes," she murmured.</p><p>I shrugged. "All right, I'm not one to tell you how to spend your seemingly worthless weekend. Is Wendy gone?"</p><p>"She left with Peter like an hour ago," she told me, sounding grumpy.</p><p>I smirked. Time for the first step of my plan -- weaseling details out of Alice. "So...remember that 'friend date' you went on with Peter?" I asked nonchalantly.</p><p>She turned over again to give me a suspicious look. "That was like two months ago...why?"</p><p>"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering. You kissed Peter?" I tried, not wanting to be too outright.</p><p>She squinted her eyes at me above the edge of her comforter. "Yes. It was on accident, though. I went down the slide and landed on top of him, and I just kissed him. I apologized though, so it was okay," she replied, and I was lucky to understand her with the sleepiness laced in her voice.</p><p>I pondered that for a moment. "So neither of you told Wendy?" I interrogated, pretending to look for something in my bag to seem uninterested.</p><p>"No...Why? Did she say anything?" she asked in panic, sitting up.</p><p>"No, no. Of course not," I said, smiling to myself. "Well, I've got to go. See you."</p><p>Alice grunted and disappeared back under her covers.</p><p>I walked down to the elevators to the boy's floor, lightly knocking on door 124 before walking in. "Oh, hello, dumbass," Kuzco greeted me ever-so-kindly, not glancing up from his phone.</p><p>"Hello yourself, your royal ugliness," I responded halfheartedly. I really wasn't in the mood to bicker today, we had a lot to do. "Guess what?"</p><p>"What?" Kuzco said, putting down his phone and expecting some hot gossip.</p><p>"Step one of my plan is complete," I reported proudly, sticking up my chin and placing my bag down.</p><p>He looked confused. "The one to break up Wendy and Peter?"</p><p>"Yep."</p><p>"I love it."</p><p>"All right, so Dolly Llama practice? You want to just do the song and dance?" I asked, setting up the music.</p><p>"Yeah, there's no way that I'm putting on my makeup at this time," he said, as if the idea were preposterous.</p><p>I gave him a piercing look. "It's the middle of the afternoon."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>I sighed, and Kuzco agreed to put on his tall red heels, which made him 5'11", three inches taller than normal.</p><p>I began to blast the song "Work Bitch" from Britney Spears. Kuzco began to go over the choreography I had taught him, whipping his hair and mouthing the words.</p><p>Once he ran through it once, I said, "Good. But not really. What are your hands doing during the chorus? Do it again." I played the music again, on full blast as I shouted corrections at an already sweaty Kuzco.</p><p>Suddenly, the door swung open, slamming into the wall and causing both of us to jump. Kuzco stopped mid-twerk, looking petrified.</p><p>"What the hell is going on here?" Adam shouted angrily, glaring at Kuzco and his heels.</p><p>I fumbled to stop the music, and it was deathly quiet, Adam's flashing eyes seeming to set off an alarm throughout the room. "N-nothing," Kuzco stammered, standing and making himself smaller, wringing his hands.</p><p>"You're wearing heels," Adam said dryly, eyeing them.</p><p>"He was...demonstrating some choreography for me...I wanted to see how it looked," I stepped in, standing in between Adam and Kuzco. I could tell he was scared, and Adam almost made me tremble in my shoes. But I stood my ground, looking him dead in the eye and balling my fists.</p><p>Adam's fierce eyes darted in between me and Kuzco. Then he muttered, "I'm changing rooms." He stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out and making us jump once more.</p><p>"What a di-" I seethed, beginning to go after him, but Kuzco stopped me.</p><p>"Tink, it's fine."</p><p>"No, he's such a jerk!" I shouted, my face turning red.</p><p>"Tink! He said he's changing rooms. It's fine. I mean, I won't get to look at his abs while he changes, but it will be fine," Kuzco said with regret.</p><p>I huffed. "Okay. You sure you're okay?" </p><p>Kuzco closed his eyes and shook himself out, Sharpay style, before nodding and we ran it again.</p><p> </p><p>ESMERALDA</p><p>"All right, girls, well done. I'm going to let you all go early tonight, okay?" I said, clapping my hands and beaming at my dance team.</p><p>"Why, got a date with a certain hot history buff?" Nala asked, winking and quirking an eyebrow.</p><p>The rest of the girls made "oooooohing" sounds, giggling. I blushed, but shook it off. In fact, I was meeting Quasimodo after this rehearsal. We were going to start practicing his magic act for the talent show, and I had to admit, I was excited.</p><p>"So what if I am?" I asked, smirking and grabbing my bag. What was the harm in not telling the girls the whole truth? It wasn't their business anyway.</p><p>The others gasped and gathered around me, except I watched as Kida quietly grabbed their bag as well and slipped out of the studio. I began to open my mouth to call out to them, but was bombarded with questions.</p><p>"Where are you going?"</p><p>"Are you going right now?"</p><p>"What are you wearing?"</p><p>I calmed them down, waving my hands. "Chill, chill. It's just for the talent show, and I'm just going over right now."</p><p>"What, you're showing your talent of Frenching him?" Vanessa muttered.</p><p>"Are you going to his dorm?" Marian asked, smiling.</p><p>I shook my head quickly, and then managed to escape the mob that continued to try to attack me. I didn't want to wheedle myself further into this little lieI jogged out of the studio, waving to my girls as they screamed wishes of good luck back. The cool air hit my sweaty skin, and then I realized that I probably looked really gross after three hours of dancing. I knew Quasi wouldn't mind, though. He truly was a sweetheart.</p><p>I neared the theater and heard two melodic voices ringing out a cheesy duet. I walked in to see Giselle and Edward singing their hearts out on stage, flouncing around and giggling.</p><p>I couldn't spot Quasi yet, so I sat in one of the seats in the audience to watch. I smiled as they finished with a flourish, standing up and clapping.</p><p>Giselle giggled and curtsied. "Sorry I'm late! I just had to pick up a few extra props!" a voice called out from the back of the auditorium, and I turned to see Quasi's recognizable form running down the aisle.</p><p>As he came into view of the lights, I saw him carrying some plastic bags, but as the lights finally poured onto his face, I gasped. "Quasimodo, what happened to you?" I asked, standing immediately to run over to him.</p><p>He grimaced as I took his mangled face in my hands. There was a large bloody scratch on his cheek and one of his eyes looked even more swollen than usual, beginning to bruise yellow. "What happened?" I asked again, quietly. Behind us, Giselle and Edward we're running down the stairs to join us.</p><p>He gently pushed my wrists away, laughing it off. "It's nothing, I'm fine," he said, but I could easily tell that it was a lie. He couldn't meet my eyes.</p><p>"Aw, you poor thing!" Giselle cried, hugging him tightly.</p><p>"I'm fine, I swear! I just took a nasty fall on the concrete," he said over Giselle's shoulder, waving a hand in dismissal. I squinted my eyes at him, and once Giselle and Edward returned to the stage, I bent down to Quasi's level.</p><p>"What really happened?" I asked in a low voice.</p><p>His eyes widened, but he played it off quickly. "I said, I fell."</p><p>I looked at him sternly, grabbing his shoulders. "Quasi."</p><p>He tried to hold my gaze, but finally cracked, sighing. "All right, all right. I was leaving the store and some guys attacked me. It's really nothing, though."</p><p>"Nothing? Quasi, you're bleeding! You need to get to Dr. Sweet," I exclaimed, trying to push him in the direction of the nurse, but he resisted.</p><p>"Esme," he said firmly, turning around. "Trust me. I've been through worse. I cleaned it, it won't get infected. I know what I'm doing."</p><p>My heart broke. I could tell he wasn't lying this time. But Quasi held my gaze seriously, and I finally gave in. "Fine. If you say so. But are you sure you want to practice?"</p><p>He gasped. "And make getting these props not even worth it?"</p><p>I laughed, and we made our way backstage. I sat on one of the tables, and Quasi emptied his bags. "We have cards, a top hat, gloves, scarves, flowers, handcuffs, a wand, and I'm going to get the doves and the sawing supplies tomorrow."</p><p>I gaped. "Sawing? Doves?" I said in disbelief.</p><p>He gave me a sarcastic look. "Duh. I'm a serious magician, Esme. I'm hurt that you doubt me." I laughed, but couldn't ignore the fact that my heart jumped each time he called me Esme.</p><p>"Allow me to demonstrate," he said, whipping out the handcuffs. "May I place one of your wrists inside?" he asked, and I nodded. He did so, showing that they were indeed solid and I couldn't get out. He unlocked it, gave me the key, and then instructed me to put them on his wrists. I did do, and within three seconds, he escaped from them.</p><p>I gasped. "Wow."</p><p>"Thank you," he laughed. He went through with the rest of the act, using me as volunteers and his assistant. We laughed and joked, and I had to admit that he was a really good magician.</p><p>Once our hour was up to use the theater, Quasi left to let us have Grease rehearsals. "Have a nice night!" he said, happily waving and taking his supplies, quietly leaving the theater. I grinned and waved, staring off into the empty seats after he left.</p><p>"Hey Esme," someone said behind me, and I jumped, turning around.</p><p>"Oh, hi Milo," I greeted, smiling absently.</p><p>"I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner after?" he asked hopefully.</p><p>He was very cute. His giant glasses quirked up every time he smiled, and I loved the way his eyes lit up whenever he talked about something he was passionate about. And he was a surprisingly good kisser. But I couldn't get the image of Quasi's cut and black eye out of my mind.</p><p>Shaking it off, I smiled up at him and said, "Sure, sounds great." I allowed him to help me up, and we began our rehearsal. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hey guys. yes i know this is absolute shit, i haven't edited, but you know what? okay wait— i was going to say that i don't care, but i actually do. i'm trying to publish about 13 chapters in 3 weeks, so that's great. i don't know why, all it's gonna do is make me stressed, but hey, it's a writers life for me!</p><p>giselle and mulan finally discussed "the kiss" but did they establish anything? will they go further? what will mulan do about her/his/their gender identity? how will tink's plan work out? who will be kuzco's new roommate? will his talent show act go well? finally, do you think esme has feelings for quasi? or milo? or neither? or both?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: If you could travel anywhere right now, where would it be, fictional or otherwise?</p><p>My Answer: i honestly don't know. there are so many places i want to see. however, i did just see the most magnificent video of the victoria falls in zimbabwe, and that looks absolutely heavenly. so maybe there.</p>
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<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>KUZCO</p><p>The dorm room was empty, and this was the time I took to my advantage. For two days, Adam has been gone, sleeping in his friends' dorms as Lady Tremaine tries to find a new room for him. It has been just Hercules and I. If you ask me, the sexual tension has been at an all time high.</p><p>Just yesterday, he came back from football practice, all sweaty. When he came back from his shower, he was wearing just a towel. His rock hard abs were still wet...I smirked just thinking of it. It was like he was trying to tempt me. I mean, who wouldn't want a piece of Kuzco Pepikrankenitz?</p><p>At the moment, I was laying out my outfit for the talent show. It was tomorrow, and Tink and I felt very confident in my routine. I had arranged the lights, confetti, and music with Zarina, the tech director. I was going to blow the whole school away with Dolly Llama, I'd practically become the emperor of the school. "Step aside, Mickey, Emperor Kuzco's in town!" I cried to myself, smiling and striking a pose with my hands splayed. "Boo yah!"</p><p>"Hello?" a voice said, and I whipped around to see Edward in the doorway, holding a bag and a cardboard box in his arms.</p><p>I furrowed my eyebrows and placed my hands sassily on my hips. "What are you doing here?"</p><p>He stared me dead in the eyes and said, very unenthusiastically, "I suppose that I'm your new roommate. Unfortunately."</p><p>I scoffed, offended. "Excuse me?" I said loudly, putting a hand to my chest. "You should be grateful to room with someone as fabulous as me."</p><p>Edward rolled his eyes and went over to Adam's old bed. "Perhaps the two of us will out-gay Hercules. Maybe he'll decide to leave too."</p><p>"Oh, please. If he can handle me, your sorry ass won't make any difference to him. You've barely even come out."</p><p>Edward straightened up and raised his very well manicured eyebrow at me, then glanced down at my talent show outfit. It was a red latex zip-up bodysuit, with black heels, my normal jewelry, and I had styled my wig. "Drag queen?" Edward asked me with some disdain. I widened my eyes at his tone.</p><p>"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" I shot back.</p><p>Edward shrugged and turned back to his things. I felt so much competition crackling in the air, and I loved it. "No," he said nonchalantly. "It's just quite cliche."</p><p>I snorted. "Oh, says you. You practically talk in rhymes and throw glitter everywhere."</p><p>Edward whipped around with a dramatic gasp. "Because I'm the gayest of them all!" he cried, throwing a hand up.</p><p>I cackled, then stepped towards him threateningly. I hated to admit that his breath smelled almost floral. "You wish," I said. "You'll see tomorrow. I'm going to knock your rainbow socks off."</p><p>Edward smirked, giving me a faint flash of butterflies. "It's on."</p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>Tomorrow was the talent show, and I have never felt more nervous, perhaps ever. I had gone to the pond a few times to practice with my powers. Freezing it over, making it snow, and a few times accidentally causing a blizzard.</p><p>I couldn't control it. My nerves would be through the roof tomorrow, there is no way I can control my powers as well. What if I hurt someone? What if the same thing happened like that time I accidentally hit Anna? Yes, she had been healed by trolls, but there are no trolls at Walt E. Disney High. I can't do this. I can't be in the talent show. I'm going to hurt someone. What if people laugh at me? What if-</p><p>"Hey Els," Anya said as she opened the door, smiling warmly at me but then looking concerned. It was only then that I realized that I was shaking, my frail arms wrapped around my knees as I huddled on the ground. "Are you okay?"</p><p>I looked up at her, trying to give off the effect of being stable. I smiled as much as I could. "Yeah. I'm great. Sorry." I weakly pushed myself off the ground, taking a deep breath.</p><p>Anya, however, walked over to me and gently grasped my shoulders, making me look at her. "Are you sure?"</p><p>I smiled again and nodded.</p><p>"Is this about the talent show?" she asked.</p><p>I sighed, finally letting down my guard as I slumped, looking at the ground. "Yeah," I admitted quietly, playing with my gloves.</p><p>"Hey," she said kindly, tilting my chin up so I looked at her, "you don't have to do it if you don't want to."</p><p>I nodded tiredly, grateful for her help. "Thanks Anya," I said, and hugged her lightly. It did feel good to be comforted. My mind went immediately to my boyfriend. "I think I'm going to talk to Jack," I told her.</p><p>Anya nodded and I grabbed my phone, slipping on shoes before walking out the door and wiping my eyes. I knew exactly where he would be.</p><p>I walked outside and onto the vast lawn that surrounded the lake. Scanning the trees, I finally spotted a leg dangling from one of them and I smiled. I began to run toward the tree, and once I got close, I called, "Jack!"</p><p>The leg disappeared, and as I arrived at the trunk, I saw Jack's white head peak out of the dense leaves. "Elsa?" he asked, and I laughed. Jack gracefully scurried down the branches, landing lightly in front of me.</p><p>"Sorry to bother you," I said immediately, sort of regretting coming to get him. I knew he used his tree time to to be alone and to think, and I always respected that, I just...I needed him right now.</p><p>"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, holding my cheeks in his ice cold hands.</p><p>I smiled a little, a bit pained that his first instinct was that I wasn't okay. And he was usually right. "I just got a little worried about the talent show tomorrow," I told him, making sure to control my breathing.</p><p>"Why? Because you'll be in front of people?" he asked me, leaning back onto the tree trunk.</p><p>"Well, that too," I replied truthfully. But now, my stage fright was even the least of my worries, and that was saying something. "But my powers... I'm going to hurt somebody, like I hurt Anna. Oh, Jack, there's no way that this won't go horribly wrong."</p><p>Jack sighed. "Elsa, that's not true," he said, crossing his arms.</p><p>"How do you know?" I cried, beginning to feel the panic rising up in my chest again. I shoved my trembling hands securely under my arms.</p><p>"Because I've seen you control them."</p><p>"But I'll be in front of the whole school! I'll be nervous, and when I'm nervous things go wrong. It seems that things go wrong around me all the time," I confessed, my voice getting smaller and smaller as I stared at the dying grass.</p><p>Jack sighed. He was getting annoyed with me, I could tell. And he's justified for it. I'm a needy annoyance that he has to calm down all the time. "That isn't true, Elsa," he said again, but I refused to look up. "You're overreacting."</p><p>My head finally snapped up, but I deflated again. "I guess I am. I just don't think I can do it."</p><p>"Yes you can. You have to. The students who have powers all are counting on you. You started this," Jack said.</p><p>"What? I started this? You and Anna started this! You're not even going to be in the talent show! You didn't even come with us to appeal to Mickey! And now you say I have to do this?" I cried hysterically, extremely hurt.</p><p>"Calm down," Jack said, uncrossing his arms to steady me. I pushed him off.</p><p>"I'm leaving," I muttered, and walked away. As I entered the lobby, I felt a small tear dribble down my cheek. I can't do this anymore. </p><p> </p><p>The next day, I avoided meeting up with Jack for breakfast, and I think he did the same. He seemed cold, unironically. His usual warmth and caring aura that was once calming to me was gone, replaced with annoyance. At least that's what my brain convinced me of.</p><p>The minute I entered Mr. Skellington's home period, I walked timidly up to Zarina Hendricks, the tech director of the stage. "Excuse me," I said quietly as she talked to Silvermist. "Excuse me," I said louder, clearing my throat.</p><p>Zarina turned with surprise. "Oh, hi Elsa!"</p><p>"Hi," I said quietly, bending down so she could hear me. "Um, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to be doing my act tonight."</p><p>Silvermist gasped next to her. "What? You can't back out now! All the students with powers are counting on you!"</p><p>My heart dropped. "Well, if I do take you out I'll have to rearrange my whole set-" Zarina began, concentrating on what she could do.</p><p>"No-no, it's okay," I cut in quickly. "I don't want to be a bother. I'll do it."</p><p>"Really? Oh great, thanks Elsa," Zarina said, looking relieved as she smiled at me.</p><p>"You'll be great, Elsa," Silvermist said kindly to me. "I can't wait until you see the fairies' act! We're really excited to show it off."</p><p>I smiled, but I really regretted what I just did. I'm going to be in the talent show tonight. </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p>I arrived at the theater with my guitar in hand. I was, in fact, dreading this talent show. It wasn't going to go in the way Ariel expected, and I was already regretting it.</p><p>I spotted her familiar head of red hair, standing in front of the stage and watching Jasmine practice her ribbon dancing routine. "Ariel!" I called, and she turned around with those beautiful blue eyes.</p><p>"Hey, Eric!" she said, walking up to me.</p><p>"Hey, I was thinking we could practice in the music room?" I suggested, setting the plan into action.</p><p>She smiled. "Yeah, sure." I led her through one of the exits and opened the door to the music, which I had ensured earlier was unlocked. I set down my guitar and opened it, tuning the strings as she waited patiently as she strolled around the room.</p><p>I grabbed a meticulously placed microphone among the ones that were supposed to be used for the show. But this microphone was special, and I needed to be sure that it was the correct one. I discreetly studied the bottom of it and spotted a glowing red light. Bingo.</p><p>"Here, practice with this," I told Ariel, turning and smiling at her as I handed it to her.</p><p>She looked at it with those big eyes and then giggled, taking it from my hands. "You ready?" I asked, sitting on one of the stools and positioning my guitar. She nodded and hesitantly brought the microphone to her lips.</p><p>I strummed the first chord. She began. "Look at this stuff? Isn't it neat?" I smiled as she got more comfortable with the song, closing her eyes as she sang through the lyrics I had written for her.</p><p>I had really gotten to know her well over the past two weeks. She had poured so much into me. She was a really great, caring, complex person. I wanted to get closer to her, but god knows Vanessa wouldn't let that happen. Ariel finished strongly, "Love to explore that shore above? Out of the sea. Wish I could be part of that world." I ended the final chord lightly, and after it rang out, I clapped for her.</p><p>She blushed, handing the microphone back to be as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "That was really good," I told her truthfully.</p><p>She blushed even more, almost matching her hair. It really was adorable. If Vanessa ever did blush, one wouldn't be able to see it anyway since she cakes on so much makeup.</p><p>"Thanks. But it's really thanks the you," she said nicely.</p><p>I smiled. "No problem. I'm going to go make sure our place in the line up is still the same, I'll be right back, okay?"</p><p>She nodded and I left the music room, the microphone still in my hand. I took a deep breath as I left her behind, apologizing to her in my mind in advance.</p><p>Instead of going to Zarina, I took a left and hesitantly opened the door Ms. Ursula's classroom. However, inside the darkened room waited Vanessa, Marie, and Adam. Vanessa whipped around as I entered. "Did you get it?" she asked, holding out a clawed hand.</p><p>I sighed and nodded, reluctantly holding out the microphone and dropping it into her hand. She smiled maliciously, cradling it like a child. Though, if she ever held a child, she would probably throw it into the air and drop kick it with her stiletto heel.</p><p>She glanced back at Marie and Adam. She snapped. "Go." They both sprang into action, scurrying out of the classroom and toward Ariel. I cringed.</p><p>"This is too far, Vanessa. What are you going to gain from this?" I demanded.</p><p>She didn't reply, but walked slowly away, her heels clacking on the tile as she studied her microphone. She pressed a button. Ariel's voice played back perfectly. Her plan had worked.</p><p>I hated myself for everything I had done. But I had to save my mother. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hi. i'm back again!! with another bad and unedited chapter, but you know what?? we're getting them out right on schedule, so i'm really proud of myself. once this book is done (omg) i'll edit it and make it so much better i promise.</p><p>edward is kuzco's new roommate!! who will out-gay who? how is dolly llama's act going to go? how will elsa's act go, especially since she's so nervous about it? and what do you think about the confrontation between her and jack? are they just going through a rocky part, or will it be longer? will the power class campaign work, and the magical students get their proper teaching? or will it go horribly wrong? finally, what is eric plotting with vanessa? what will happen to ariel? tune in next chapter for all the talent show tea!!!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: (it's cliche) If you were put on a deserted island, what 3 things would you bring? (not food, water, devices, supplies, people)</p><p>My Answer: well, darn, i shouldn't have given so many limitations. hm, i would bring a book on how to survive the desert island (not technically a supply?), and my two cats lmao</p>
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<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Talent Show</p><p>HICCUP</p><p>"Is anyone sitting here?" someone asked. I turned from talking to Peter, and I was surprised when I saw Astrid pointing to the chair next to me.</p><p>"Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked enthusiastically, and she took it as an invitation to sit down in the velvet seat.</p><p>"As you know, Dreamworks doesn't really value student entertainment," she said with a laugh. "I thought it'd be fun."</p><p>"You know you had to pay ten dollars to get in, right? It's going to go towards us, not Dreamworks. Some student council activity they're planning."</p><p>She shrugged, a faint smirk playing over her lips. "Whatever. If it's the activity I think it is, I think it will help me more than you think."</p><p>I was about to respond in confusion, but Peter and Wendy had leaned over and interrupted. "Hiccup, who's your friend?" Peter asked in a friendly tone, that childish grin shining over to Astrid.</p><p>"Oh, this is Astrid, an old...friend from Dreamworks," I bluffed. It would probably be best that my friends didn't know about the history between me and Astrid. She and her friends bullying me and Jack and everything.</p><p>"Hey, I'm Peter and this is my girlfriend Wendy," Peter said, reaching over to give Astrid a fist bump as Wendy waved.</p><p>After that friendly introduction, a new voice came into the conversation. "Astrid?" We all looked up to see Jack's disgusted and confused face staring down at her as he clutched two cupcakes. "What the hell are you doing here?"</p><p>"Um, Jack, hi," Astrid said uncomfortably, trying to smile at him. He continued scowling.</p><p>"Jack, back off," I warned. I knew that he could get pretty worked up by this, and the last thing we needed was a big scene.</p><p>A bumping sound rang over the speakers, and Tiana walked in front of the stage curtain, tapping the microphone. Jack reluctantly sat down next to Wendy, not giving me the cupcake I had asked him to get me. "Good evenin', Disney High!" she exclaimed, beaming. The audience clapped as the lights dimmed and she was flooded in a spotlight.</p><p>"My name is Tiana Orleans, your class president. Welcome to our first talent show! As you know, there was an entry fee and also a small fee to perform. There is a bake sale back there as well, with cupcakes and treats made by yours truly and the darlin' Snow White. All of these funds are goin' right back to you, I promise. If we reach our goal amount of thirty-five hundred dollars, I will reveal the project that student council and the faculty have been workin' on!</p><p>"On another note," she continued, "this talent show is featuring some of our magical students. They will showcase their powers to campaign for their very own magic class, and I think you're all gonna love it. So, please enjoy the show!'</p><p>She walked off stage to loud applause, and Jane took the microphone from her. "Hello, everybody. I'm Jane Porter, your vice president, and I will be announcing each act. First up we have the fairies: Silvermist Waters, Rosetta Gardner, Fawn Deer, Periwinkle and Tinkerbell Hollow, Iridessa Symone, and Vidia Govad."</p><p>We clapped as Jane walked off and the curtains opened, revealing a big wooden dome. Each of the fairies flew out one by one, showing off their talents and ending with a beautiful formation complete with a water pattern, butterflies, disco lights, flowers, all spun by Vidiia's fast flying techniques.</p><p>Next, Esmeralda and Quasimodo performed a very fascinating magic act. Cinderella and Aurora sang an original song together, called "So This is Love." Then Mulan and Shang entered to show off their martial arts, which Astrid thoroughly enjoyed. Dumbo did a circus act, complete with a tightrope, trapeze, and trampoline. Naveen got the crowd very excited, especially the girls, when he shredded a catchy tune on his ukulele, getting one of the Bimbette sisters to dance with him.</p><p>Jane returned. "Next, we have Lottie LaBouff, singing 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best'-"</p><p>"Hold on, lass!" a familiar Scottish accent yelled, and people gasped as Merida walked onto the stage, carrying her bow and arrows. I froze. Oh no. "It's my turn."</p><p>"What's going on?" someone shouted, and Merida looked fiercely into the audience.</p><p>"My name is Merida DunBroch, and Ay will be shooting my bow and arrow tonight," she announced, holding up the bow like a trophy.</p><p>"Uh, Merida, you can't do that," Jane said in a whisper, and it reached the microphone.</p><p>"Ay have never missed a bullseye once, and tonight is no different. Ay have hung up several targets throughout the auditorium and will be shooting at them," she said, motioning to the walls.</p><p>People panicked as they searched for the targets in the dark. Some were right above people's shoulders, some right but their feet. One was right next to Astrid.</p><p>Minnie had somehow reached the foot of the stage, looking up at Merida. "Sweetheart, you can't do this. Just come off the stage and we'll work something out, okay?" she suggested kindly, but Merida wasn't going to take no for an answer. I had to do something to stop her. She ignored Mrs. Minnie and began to pull out an arrow from her quiver, sending some people into shock and some into interest.</p><p>Without thinking, I stood up. "Merida!" I shouted, hoping to distract her. It worked, and her head snapped toward me. She stopped moving the arrow.</p><p>I awkwardly moved through the seats, muttering excuse me's as I climbed over people's legs. My face began heating up, because the audience was quiet as they watched me. Lord, what was I doing?</p><p>"Merida, put the bow down," I told her calmly, walking down the aisle stairs.</p><p>"Hiccup," she said, and I couldn't tell if she was determined or pleading, "you know I can do this. You saw. I've never missed once."</p><p>"I know! I know. But it's just for safety, you know? I'm sure they believe you," I said, motioning to the wide eyed students. Some of the performers had peeked their heads out from behind the wings to watch. "So how about you don't show them right now? Later?"</p><p>Merida rolled her eyes, pouting. "Or how about no? It is a talent show, is it not?"</p><p>My breath caught as she nocked the bow into the arrow, beginning to draw it back, just as she had taught me back in the forest. I started forward, with every intention to stop her. I did trust that she could hit the target, but this was against the rules, and there is a small chance that she could accidentally hurt someone.</p><p>But as I was running up the stairs, I spotted Mr. Donald Duck doing the same on the other side, and he reached her first. Donald leaped to push Merida's bow away, and it looked like it was in slow motion as she gasped, her hand releasing the arrow slowly.</p><p>I watched, glued in my spot as the arrow flew into the dark audience. People gasped and leapt to dodge it, like they had choreographed a dance. The arrow finally hit the wall, leaving everyone unscathed. People let out relieved breaths and immediately burst into chatter. I blinked a few times, processing the situation until I grabbed the bow out of a shocked Merida's hand, then took her wrist and dragged her off the stage.</p><p>"What happened?" she asked, dazed. She was still surprised that she had missed a target, probably for the first time in years.</p><p>"You were being an idiot, that's what happened," I muttered, pulling her into a hallway.</p><p>"Hey, let go of me!" she cried, shoving my hand off. "And give me my bow!" She lunged for it, but I nimbly picked it out of her grasp. It was not helping how short I was.</p><p>"Merida," I said firmly, holding out a hand. "Stop."</p><p>"Why did you do that?" she yelled, getting in my face as I flinched. "Ay had it under control!"</p><p>"Because you could get suspended for this, that's why!" I retaliated.</p><p>She snarled and easily snatched her bow, looking like fire was bursting from her ears. "And to think I was going to apologize to you," she muttered, and began to walk away.</p><p>"For what, not liking me back?" I asked her retreating form, the pain of her empty worded answer to my confession returning.</p><p>She whipped around, seething, and stomped up to me. "You're such an idiot, Hiccup Haddock," she spat, glaring down at me with terrifying turquoise eyes "Ay'm ace, dumbass! Asexual, aromantic! Ay don't like anyone! But you wouldn't know, not after being my best friend for a year. So stop feelin' sorry for yerself, okay? Go hang out with yer little Dreamworks friend."<br/>She turned and walked away, her bow gripped in her hand tightly. I was left alone in the hallway, gaping. Slowly, I walked back to the theater's door and to sit back down in my seat. Asexual? Aromantic? What did that even mean? Ignoring my friends' questions, I pulled out my phone and looked them up.</p><p>Asexual: without sexual feelings or associations. Aromantic: having no interest in or desire for romantic relationships.</p><p>Oh. So that explains a lot.</p><p>"Hiccup, is everything okay?" Astrid asked me, placing a comforting hand on my arm.</p><p>I looked up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Merida's a little worked up though."</p><p>I've made a big mistake. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>As soon as Eric closed the door to the music room, I started to grin. Eventually I was beaming and I twirled around, squealing. He complimented my singing! He's just so...perfect. I barely know him, but I completely trust him. It's like he couldn't hurt a fly, especially not me. Even though it hurts every day to see him with Vanessa.</p><p>I stood there fawning over him until I heard the doorknob start to turn. I perked up with excitement. "Eric!" I said, but it wasn't him who appeared in the doorway. "Marie?" I asked, completely confused.</p><p>"Hey Ariel," she purred, stepping towards me. Subconsciously, I stumbled back. "You ready for the talent show?"</p><p>I gulped. "Uh, yeah, I hope so," I answered nervously, trying to push my anxiety down. Something was going on, and I didn't like it.</p><p>"That's great. I just passed Eric in the hall, he said to meet him in the janitor's closet," she said. I started.</p><p>"Really? Why? I thought I'd just meet him backstage," I pondered, trying to think of a reason not to.</p><p>She smirked. "There may be something...important," she said suggestively, taking another step. "Come on, I'll show you where."</p><p>Hesitantly, I followed her out of the room. Normally I wouldn't, but what if Eric needed something? "Here we are," Marie said, pulling out a ring of keys to unlock it swiftly.</p><p>I stared at the jangling ring with wide, suspicious eyes. "How do you have that?" I questioned.</p><p>She shrugged. "Eric handed them to me. Get inside, he'll be here in a second."</p><p>I stepped inside, studying the items cluttering the shelf and recognizing a few that Scuttle had introduced to me. "Good luck in the talent show, Ariel," Marie told me, her cat like eyes burning into me.</p><p>I was about to thank her, but she closed the door. I heard the lock click. I was in complete darkness. "Marie?" I asked loudly, my legs already starting to tremble. "Marie!" I slapped the door.</p><p>My breathing sped up, making me feel lightheaded as the chemicals in the small, clustered space surrounded me, closing in. I'm going to die in here. "Help!" I shouted, my eyes watering. "Help me!" I repeated the cry, pounding on the door and screaming, hoping a passerby would hear me. I could have been doing it for hours, and my throat felt scratchy as I finally sat on the ground, defeated as I wept. Why hasn't Eric come for me? Did he even notice I was gone?</p><p>Wait, I suddenly thought. I have a phone. How dumb. I hastily pulled it out and dialed Moana's number as quickly as I could. The time revealed that the show had started forty minutes ago.</p><p>"Hello? Ariel, where are you?" she asked, after answering on the first ring.</p><p>"Please help," I said hoarsely. "I'm - I'm in the janitor's closet. Marie locked me in."</p><p>"What?" Moana exclaimed, and I heard the audience burst into applause.</p><p>"I'm in the janitor's closet, in the B hall," I repeated weakly, losing more energy by the second.</p><p>There was a pause. "Okay. Okay, hang on Ariel, we're coming. I'm coming to get you."</p><p>She hung up and I laid my head against the mop bucket. I couldn't stop myself from inhaling the dangerous chemicals, my breathing getting shallower by the second. Please hurry, Moana. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MOANA</p><p>I hung up on Ariel quickly, turning to Rapunzel. "We have to go," I told her urgently.</p><p>Rapunzel frowned. "Why? Ariel and Eric are almost on."</p><p>My breath caught. "Exactly. Ariel's in trouble."</p><p>Rapunzel looked confused. "What?"</p><p>"Ariel, she's locked in the janitor's closet."</p><p>"How?" Punz asked in shock, as we began to squeeze through the crowd of people backstage.</p><p>"Marie locked her in. Probably Vanessa's plan. Can you pick locks?" I said.</p><p>Punz's eyes widened as she shook her head. "Call Anna."</p><p>Doubting her, I hurriedly called Anna, who picked up quickly. "Hi! What is it? Is Ariel next?" she asked enthusiastically.</p><p>"No. Come to the B hall. We need you to pick a lock," I ordered.</p><p>"Sorry?"</p><p>"Come to the B hall!" I repeated, and hung up as I took Rapunzel's wrist, leading the way.</p><p>All three of us convened in the B hall, and Anna was out of breath as she ran towards us. "What's going on?" she inquired, resting her hands on her knees, and then muttered, "Wow I'm out of shape."</p><p>"Ariel's locked in the janitor's closet. You have to pick the lock," I told her. We scanned the hall frantically, and finally Punz spotted the door labeled CUSTODIAN.</p><p>"Ariel! Ariel, are you in there?" Rapunzel cried, knocking on the door.</p><p>"Punz? Yes, yes it's me!" a weak voice yelled, pounding coming from the opposite side of the door. "Help me!"</p><p>We looked towards Anna, who had a new expression of sheer determination. "Hair pin," she demanded, holding out her hand.</p><p>Rapunzel fisher around for one in her purse, handing it to Anna who immediately got to work. In about four minutes, the lock clicked and the door swung open. Staggering on her feet, Ariel stepped out, relief pouring over her face.</p><p>"Thank you," she gasped, catching her breath.</p><p>"How did you learn to do that?" I asked Anna, who satisfactorily dropped the pin back into Punz's hand.</p><p>"I was a very bored child, especially since Elsa was...antisocial," she answered, dusting her hands off as Rapunzel checked on Ariel. "Might as well learn how to pick a lock."</p><p>"Are you okay?" Rapunzel asked Arel, letting her use her arm for support. "You really have got to stop getting yourself into locked rooms."</p><p>"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you," she said gratefully.</p><p>I cut in urgently as the audience began to clap again. "I think that you and Eric are on next!"</p><p>All of them gasped and we took off running towards the teater, shoving Ariel through the backstage door. Except, right as we entered, I heard the strum of a guitar. Ariel's voice sang out through the building, as beautiful as ever, but she was standing right next to me, mouth unmoving. She was frozen, her eyes wide. I followed her gaze over the heads of stage crew.</p><p>There on the stage, Vanessa stood, microphone in hand as she sang the song Eric had written for Ariel. Vanessa was singing with Eric! But it was Ariel's voice, I knew it. How was this possible?</p><p>I looked over at Ariel, and her eyes were filling with tears as her bottom lip quivered. My heart broke. Ariel turned and pushed through the people, running out the door as she cried.</p><p>Taking one last look at the stage, I saw Vanessa watch Ariel run, a triumphant and disgustingly evil smirk playing as she sang Ariel's lyrics. Eric had seen Ariel too, and he looked sorrowful. He was in on this plan. He did this on purpose. He was with Vanessa.</p><p>I cursed him out in my head as I sprinted after Ariel, who had run into the hall again and was stumbling toward the exit. I called after her, but she didn't stop until I caught up to her. The painful sound of roaring applause started up again. At least their act was over. I squeezed her into a hug, and then we heard the stage door open again</p><p>We turned to see Eric. I practically snarled at him, shielding my friend behind me, but he only had eyes for Ariel. "Ariel," he said, his voice cracking. "I'm so so sorry."</p><p>Ariel stepped out from behind me, looking at him sadly. The tears were still fresh on her cheeks as she said shakily, "You we're in on it. You helped her."</p><p>Eric didn't respond, he just looked ashamedly down at his feet. I furrowed my brows, looking at him. I was still confused about Ariel's voice resounding through the theater. "How? How did you pull it off?" I asked, looking between them. Eric's head snapped up to meet Ariel's eyes.</p><p>She stared straight at him as she gasped in realization. "The microphone," she whispered.</p><p>"What?" I asked, trying to follow.</p><p>Ariel didn't tear her eyes from Eric. "You gave me a microphone to practice with. You must have...recorded me. And then you left with it and gave it to her!" Ariel paused, and another tear dropped from her blue eyes. "You stole my voice. And then you gave it to Vanessa."</p><p>Eric closed his eyes in regret. "I'm sorry," he apologized, and it did sound sincere.</p><p>I watched as Ariel's gaze hardened, and I felt a little scared as she took a step towards him. "Don't talk to me again."</p><p>She turned and ran. Eric started after her, but I caught him by grabbing a fistful of his shirt and stopping him in his tracks. He looked at me in surprise. "How could you?" I seethed, pushing him back. "How long has this been going on for, huh? Have you been involved in all of Vanessa's little schemes?"</p><p>Eric was gaping and took a step back. "Yes, I have. The bathroom one too," he confessed finally, and I wanted to hit him. Before I could say something though, he said, "But I have a good reason for it!"</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Sure you do. Don't come near her again, do you hear me?" I threatened, pointing my index finger at him.</p><p>Eric nodded sadly, and I turned on my heel to run after Ariel. </p><p> </p><p>KUZCO</p><p>After adding the final red glitter to my overlined lips, I leaned back to look at myself in the mirror. I grinned. I looked good. "Walt Disney High, hold on to your ti -"</p><p>I was cut off by Lottie appearing in the mirror behind me. She gasped. "Oh, sweetcheeks, you look FABULOUS!" she yelled, and I smiled back at her.</p><p>I turned around in my chair. "I know."</p><p>She squealed and clapped with excitement. "I just came to tell you that you're on after Snow and Florian."</p><p>I nodded. "Thanks. Is, uh, Edward around?" I asked hopefully. I wanted to show him how fantastic I looked, and maybe shove it in his face.</p><p>She looked surprised for a moment, but then her face transformed into a suggestive smirk. "Well, he just went into their dressin' room -"</p><p>"Oh," I interrupted. "Okay, that's fine. Thanks."</p><p>She grabbed my face, and I flinched lest she messed up my makeup. "Chin up, Dolly Llama. You're gonna kill it out there! And I'll make sure Edward watches, mkay?"</p><p>I took her hand away but beamed at her. "Thank you, Lottie!"</p><p>"No problem. Now, get your butt up there!" she cried, pushing me out of my chair.</p><p>I rose, then threw off my jacket dramatically to reveal the latex suit. Lottie squealed again, I blew her a kiss and then walked into the wings. "In our next act, we have..." I watched as Jane stared in confusion at the paper in front of her. "Dolly Llama? Um, enjoy!"</p><p>The crowd clapped hesitantly, and the stage lights dimmed. I walked on, my heels clopping against the floor as I got into my position. The lights came up as the music began, and I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins. "You wanna, you wanna," Britney said, and my back was facing the audience as I sat in my hip, raising each arm on the lyric.</p><p>The beat began and I whipped around, my black ponytail swinging as I catwalked to the front of the stage, met by the roar of the crowd.</p><p>I began mouthing the words. "You wanna hot body? You wanna Bugatti? You wanna Maserati? You better work, bitch." I walked to the other side of the stage, giving people in the crowd a fierce stare. They were going crazy, some laughing, some in awe. I smirked. "You wanna Lamborghini? Sip martinis? Look hot in a bikini? You better work bitch. You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in France? You better work, bitch. You better work, bitch. You better work, bitch. You better work, bitch. Now get to work bitch!" The beat dropped, and I really began to dance.</p><p>People clapped as I spun, locked, pointed, and went crazy, all while staying stable in my heels. Soon, the song calmed down again, and I pinpointed certain people in the audience. I picked out Adam and pointed at him seductively, leaning down to show my fake cleavage. He looked disgusted, and I blew him a kiss before waving at Hercules, who was smiling. It melted my heart, but I had to concentrate on my choreography.</p><p>I clapped my hands in a circle, getting the audience to clap too. I waved my arms in a sequence I had had trouble on. The beat dropped again. "Now get to work, bitch!" I continued with my catwalks, jutting my hips out. I have never felt more in character. I had never felt more free. Here I was, in full hair and makeup and latex, dancing and almost twerking in heels while my peers cheered me on. It was ecstacy.</p><p>"Go call the police! Go call the governor!" I made a phone gesture with my hand, then fiercely whipped my ponytail around, breathing hard but knowing that the song was almost over -- Tink had cut it down for me.</p><p>"I am the bad bitch, the bitch that you're lovin' up!" I ended strongly with a fabulous pose, and the audience roared. I smiled, standing up straight and holding my hands out to them, then curtsied and strutted off stage, the applause continuing. I was panting, but I had never felt more alive in my life.</p><p>Tink met me immediately. "Oh my god!" she screamed, tackling me in a hug. "That was amazing! They loved it!"</p><p>"I know!" I replied, just as excited. "No tomatoes were even thrown at me!"</p><p>She laughed, but someone tapped my shoulder. Placing my hands on my hips, I turned around with a big grin. It was immediately wiped off when I recognized Donald Duck's stern face. "That was impressive," he admitted, and I almost chuckled. "But the song was quite inappropriate."</p><p>I already knew this was going to happen, and I was ready. "Well, bitch does technically mean female dog. You have no idea if the singer intended for it to be explicit or not. You'll have to take it up with Britney herself, not me. But thanks!" And I sashayed away, Tink following me as she snorted with laughter.</p><p>On my way to my dressing room, I accidentally crashed into someone's chest as we rounded a corner. "I apologize," he said, but I made contact with dazzling blue eyes and knew exactly who it was. Edward. "Oh, it's you," he said, glancing at my fantastic outfit. There's no way he could deny that I looked great.</p><p>"Don't sound so disappointed, love," I said, flicking my wrist.</p><p>I began to saunter away, wanting to leave him unsatisfied, but he called me back. I smirked as I turned around again. "Um, your act was really good," he admitted, not meeting my eyes. I smiled, waiting for him to go on. He glanced up at me. "Kuzco?"</p><p>Taking a step towards him, I placed my long acrylic nail on his chest. "It's Dolly Llama," I whispered, and I thought I felt him shiver. Satisfied, I turned around once more and walked away, swinging my hips and leaving Edward behind, speechless. </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>I paced in the wings, trying hard to control my breathing. It wasn't exactly working. My fingers nervously fiddled with my gloves -- they would be off in a few minutes. I can't even remember the last time I had them off, and had let people see me. And now it was in front of the entire school.</p><p>I couldn't stop thinking about that time I was eight years old. I had been having fun with my powers with Anna, but then accidentally hit her on the head. She had luckily been healed by nearby magic trolls, but there were no trolls by Walt E. Disney high. What was I thinking?</p><p>I wish Jack was here.</p><p>"Elsa? Everything okay?" Rapunzel asked suddenly, causing me to jump. I automatically plastered on a smile, but then let it fall.</p><p>"Punz, I can't..." I said anxiously, squeezing myself. "What if I hurt someone again?"</p><p>"You're not going to," she assured me firmly. "And if you do, I will be right there to heal them up, okay?" She picked up a water bottle. "Here, freeze this. Get your hands cooled down."</p><p>I stared at the bottle, then slowly, hesitantly pulled off my blue gloves. Taking the bottle in my hands, it almost immediately covered in frost. But it didn't stop there. The ice began to crack, and then it exploded, me and Rapunzel both starting. "That's okay," she said uneasily, but I could tell that she wasn't convinced. "You're just nervous, that's all."</p><p>"Exactly!" I told her in a low voice. "It makes them go out of control."</p><p>"And, as the finale, we have Elsa Arendelle, performing her 'cool' ice powers!" Jane announced with a giggle, making my stomach turn. The audience clapped politely, but I was frozen at the edge of the wings. Rapunzel gave me a slight nudge, and I stumbled into the spotlight, sweating all over.</p><p>The music, my favorite song "Let It Go" began. I stood there, trembling in the center of the stage, as the music played on. I was supposed to start right now. But I can't. I can't. All I could focus on was the silence of the audience. The darkness of the seats, filled only with judging, glinting eyes boring into me. My breathing got shallower, and I glanced over at Rapunzel in fear. She nodded encouragingly, making motions with her hands. I understood.</p><p>Right at the chorus of the song, I began to produce some frost at the tips of my fingers. I smiled a bit, and created a few swirls of snow, earning gasps from the people. They pushed me on, and I continued, dancing with the snow, creating ice shapes and snow flurries, making them flow and spin. I found myself laughing a bit. The audience was clapping at times. I caused a whole snow flurry on top of the audience, getting cries of delight.</p><p>"I'm never going back! The past is in the past!" the singer belted, and I spun around, shooting ice from my powerful hands. "Let it go!" I continued, but there was a terrified gasp that rippled through the crowd.</p><p>I stopped my hands and gained my grounds, looking into the audience. People were crowded around someone, but I couldn't tell who. Then it dawned on me. I had hit someone. I did it again. I hit someone with my powers.</p><p>Horrified by what I had done, I stared at my hands. I turned and ran off the stage, pushing through people and crashing out of the door. I blindly ran off of campus and towards the woods, only knowing of one place to go. I stumbled through the trees, causing each one I touched to become engulfed in daunting frost. They felt like they were closing in on me.</p><p>I eventually reached the pond, the same pond Jack had helped me use my power with. I collapsed onto the ground, finally starting to cry. The dry leaves frosted over too, and eventually the pond did too. It was spreading like a monster.</p><p>Why had I done that? Who had I hit? What if it was Anna again?</p><p>After a long while, I heard someone moving through the cold trees. I snapped my head up, tears still staining my cheeks. Jack?</p><p>But no. A disgusted looking Jasmine emerged from the trees, pulling spiderwebs off of her arms. She finally spotted me. "Hi, Elsa," she said gently, walking slowly over to me. "Are you okay?" She knelt down beside me, almost not minding about dirtying up her designer pants.</p><p>"Who did I hit?" I asked immediately, my voice hoarse.</p><p>Jasmine hesitated, looking down. My heart dropped. This must be bad. But her answer surprised me. "Hans."</p><p>I paused for a moment, my stomach dropping as I tried to process the answer. Hans? The guy who cheated on my sister and is kind of stalking me? I hurt him. And I felt horrible about it. "Oh," I breathed.</p><p>"But it's okay! Rapunzel healed him immediately, he's okay," Jasmine told me quickly. "He's with Doctor Sweet right now, just to be sure that he's okay. Which he is."</p><p>I nodded. "Is everyone else okay?"</p><p>"Yeah. It's just kind of chaotic down there."</p><p>Another question dawned on me. "How did you find me here?"</p><p>She looked uncomfortable, fiddling with a frozen leaf. "Uh... Jack told me."</p><p>I perked up at the mention of his name. "Jack? Where is he? Is he coming?"</p><p>She cleared her throat and refused to meet my eyes. "Um... I don't think so. He has a lot going on right now -"</p><p>"What?" I interrupted. I knew nothing about this. What wasn't he telling me?</p><p>Jasmine froze, and slowly her eyes looked up to me bashfully. "The - the expelling issue," she stammered, looking a little bit scared. She glanced down at my ungloved hands. She was scared of me. She was scared I would hurt her with my magic.</p><p>I was lost for words, my mind all scrambled. "The expelling issue?" I repeated.</p><p>"Um, you don't know?" she asked.</p><p>"Don't know what?" I pressed.</p><p>"I should probably let him tell you himself -" She shifted away from me.</p><p>"Jasmine," I interrupted. "Please tell me."</p><p>She sighed, and grimaced. "When Jack joined the school, he made a deal with Mickey, right?" I nodded. "They said that if his grades dropped, he'd be expelled and have to go to Illumination or something."</p><p>"His grades are dropping?" I asked. How did I not know about this? Why didn't he tell me? I'm his girlfriend.</p><p>Jasmine nodded. I sighed, cracking a leaf sadly. "Can...can you get Anna to come here?" I asked fraily, and Jasmine nodded. She began to stand up, but I touched her arm before ripping my hand away in case I froze her. "Can you stay?" I asked.</p><p>Jasmine smiled and nodded, sitting back down next to me. She called Anna and gave her directions to the pond. Honestly, all she needed to do was follow the frost bitten trees.</p><p>I sat in silence with Jasmine, staring at the realm of ice I had created. Jasmine even began to shiver next to me.</p><p>Soon, Anna exploded from the trees clumsily. "Elsa!" she exclaimed, running towards me and crushing me in a hug. As much as I wanted to stay in her warm arms forever, I pushed her away. I had left my gloves behind. I wasn't hurting anyone else tonight.</p><p>"I'll see you later, Elsa," Jasmine said kindly, beginning to disappear into the trees.</p><p>"Thank you," I told her. Even though she had brought bad news, she had come to help me, and I was extremely grateful for that.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Anna asked with concern.</p><p>"Yes, now I am," I responded.</p><p>She brought something out of her bag. "Here." She handed me a box. I opened it slowly, and inside were my gloves and some chocolate. My eyes almost filled with tears again as I looked up at her.</p><p>"Thank you," I said. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world right now. I hastily pulled on the gloves and then hugged my sister tightly.</p><p>"I was saving the chocolate for an emergency, but I figured you needed them right now," she said, brushing a strand of white hair from my damp eyes.</p><p>I smiled at her, but then it fell. "Will Jack be expelled?" I asked in a hushed whisper, looking down at my hands. They already felt better with their familiar shield.</p><p>"Oh. You found out," Anna said in disappointment, getting more comfortable on the ground.</p><p>My head flicked up."What do you mean I found out? You and him were keeping it from me?"</p><p>She looked sheepish. "Well, kinda." Before I could cut in, she said, "He didn't want to worry you. And he didn't want to make you think less of him."</p><p>My mouth fell open. "But we love each other," I said helplessly. "I could never..."</p><p>"I know," Anna said, soothingly petting my hair. "Well now you know."</p><p>"I shouldn't have to find out about these things from other people," I said quietly, staring at the pond's surface. What have we come to? Just a few weeks ago, we had had a wonderful anniversary, but now we seemed to be falling apart.</p><p>"So much for the powers class," I murmured. I had completely ruined it for all the magical students. There was no way the ban would be lifted now.</p><p>"Hey, you never know. Maybe this will show them that you need to learn how to control them," Anna said optimistically. I smiled a bit.</p><p>Anna talked comfortingly to me for almost two hours. She was getting cold, her lips turning blue as she shivered and eventually fell asleep curled up to me. I was unaffected by the dropping temperature, so I fished out her phone to call Kristoff.</p><p>He arrived shortly, waking Anna up just enough to pull her onto his back. As we walked back home, Kristoff kept stealing worried glances at me as I stared sadly at my feet, my hands unconsciously folded under my arms. "You okay?" he asked quietly.</p><p>I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you, Kristoff."</p><p>He nodded silently, and we dropped Anna off in her room and Kristoff walked me to mine. I fell asleep early in the morning, as my mind was still swirling with all that had happened this night. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>WENDY</p><p>We watched the ice zap out of Elsa's bare hand, flying into the audience. I gasped and stood up to see as people screamed. Elsa stood still, and then dashed off the stage. Rapunzel ran on and jumped down the stairs, pushing through the people. "Coming through!" she shouted. "Magical healing hair, coming through!"</p><p>Finally, people cleared the way and revealed...Hans. His hair was snow white, and he looked unconscious, shivering, laying across Gliss DeLisle's lap, who looked distressed.</p><p>"Hey, move," Rapunzel ordered firmly, pushing someone lightly out of the way. She knelt down before him, disregarding the fact that she practically hated him. She placed her golden hair across his head, which looked a little funny, but everyone remained deathly quiet and serious.</p><p>Rapunzel began to sing. "Flower gleam and glow...let your powers shine." Her voice was gorgeous, and everyone watched as her hair, from her roots, began to glow brightly. "Make the clock reverse, bring back from once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the Fate's design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine." As she finished the last note, the hair began to die back to its normal golden color. She pushed her hair off of Hans's face, and people waited with held breath.</p><p>Hans gasped, and suddenly opened his eyes, his hair was back to its auburn color. People exhaled in relief, and some clapped. "What happened?" he asked, dumbfounded as he touched his head. Rapunzel smiled and stood up as Gliss hugged him.</p><p>"Excuse me," a deep voice said, and people immediately parted a path. Dr. Sweet, the school's nurse walked towards Hans, getting his stethoscope at the ready. People calmed down, sitting back in their seats and whispered about the event.</p><p>"That was insane!" Peter said enthusiastically, grinning. I rolled my eyes at him and leaned back. Alice had already pulled out her phone as people settled down and the organizers of the show discussed further actions.</p><p>"I hope he's all right," I said nervously, biting my lip.</p><p>"But it's Hans," Peter told me, raising his eyebrow.</p><p>"Yeah, who cares?" Alice said, smacking her gum a bit.</p><p>I gasped. "Alice, that is so mean! A person's a person, no matter what horrible things he's done," I scolded her. I knew she didn't really mean it -- she often kept up a punk girl facade.</p><p>"He's been stalking Elsa," Jack muttered angrily from next to Alice.</p><p>"What?" I cried along with Alice, Peter, and Hiccup.</p><p>"She says he's been following her. He's a creep, who cares if his head freezes over. There's hardly a brain in there to be froze," he said grumpily, staring broodingly at the ground with his arms crossed.</p><p>"Jack, that -" I began, appalled at his words.</p><p>Peter held onto my arm, and said, "Hey. Let him be. He's not feeling great."</p><p>I had turned. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"The grades, being expelled and everything," Peter answered in a low voice into my ear. "He's almost failing three classes."</p><p>I glanced over at my white-haired friend, who looked absolutely depressed and angry. My heart broke for him. So much would be lost if he got expelled, again.</p><p>"Oh, that's awful," I said sadly, leaning my head into the crook of Peter's neck, who snuggled right back. I felt warm, with his arm wrapped around me, but I couldn't help but feel for him and Elsa and Hans. I hoped Elsa was okay. I had seen Jasmine and Anna run out of the theater after her.</p><p>Tiana walked in front of the closed curtain, making sure not to slip on the ice of the stage. She cleared her throat into the mic, earning the eventual silence of the crowd. "Hi y'all," she breathed, looking exceptionally stressed. "Sorry for that incident. Mr. Isles is being checked out by Dr. Sweet, and Miss Arendelle is being checked upon as well. Everyone is safe, and we apologize. But, to lighten up the mood, we have reached thirty-six hundred dollars!"</p><p>People cheered, clapping and whistling. "So, to celebrate the occasion, now is the time to announce what it is going towards! Can I have a drumroll, please?"</p><p>People smacked their seats, my adrenaline building up. "We are travelling to Paris for ten days!" she exclaimed.</p><p>I gasped. Paris! "Oh my goodness!" I yelled, hugging Alice and Peter. "Paris! The city of lights!"</p><p>Peter smiled at me. "And the city of love," he said, giving me a kiss. I giggled.</p><p>Tiana continued. "We will be travelling in a program along with Dreamworks Academy. We're planning to leave on December 29, and we will stay until January 9. We will have more details for you soon!"</p><p>People burst into chatter. I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to go to Paris with Peter. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: wowee! what a very long chapter! i'm actually really proud of myself for writing this whole thing. hopefully, three or four more updates will come your way next week, but i am very hasty and stressed in preparing for finals and everything. i know that on may 25 i will get to write a lot on my 11 hour plane ride, lol.</p><p>so! merida told hiccup that the is ace/aro, and things are more clear to him. will she get punished for bringing a freaking weapon? what was she thinking? vanessa stole ariel's VOICE! woah! a little nod to the movie there, eh? and eric was in on it by recording ariel! how do you feel about that? do you think he's justified since he's doing it to help his mother? or are things going too far?</p><p>kuzco performed as dolly llama, and almost everyone loved it! did you think that was going to go well? what will happen between kuzco and edward? elsa's powers went completely out of control, and she hit hans. should she feel bad about it, or no? what's going on between her and jack? why didn't he tell her about his grades? will they get their power class? what's going to happen in paris?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: When do you get out of school?</p><p>My Answer: my school officially gets out on june 7, but i'm getting out may 24 to go to Paris! yay!</p>
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<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 35</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ELSA</p><p>In homeroom on Monday, during the morning announcements, Fairy Godmother said, "And would Miss Elsa Arendelle please come to  the main office? The main office, Miss Elsa Arendelle."</p><p>My breath caught. I mean, I knew it was going to happen eventually, but the staring eyes were already too much for me. The moment I had stepped into the school that morning, everyone had their eyes glued to me, the girl whose magic ice powers malfunctioned in the talent show. I was feeling crushed, my lungs were contracting on themselves. When Fairy Godmother said my name, the whole classroom turned around to stare at me even more, and I shakily stood up.</p><p>Walking quickly out of the classroom, I tried to shrink myself. My feet clacked down the empty hall. Then, I passed Nick Wilde, who winked at me and I rolled my eyes. Skipping class. I was sure Judy didn't know, because she would be crushed.</p><p>Keeping my head down, I turned the corner but suddenly rammed into a muscular chest. I gasped and fell back to the floor. Glancing up, I recognized Hans. "I'm so sorry!' he said apologetically. He held out a hand. I hesitated. I didn't want to hurt him again. "Elsa?"</p><p>I took his hand and he helped me up gently. "Are you okay?" we both asked at the same time.</p><p>I blushed and looked down. "Yeah, thanks," I said bashfully.</p><p>Hans laughed. "I'm great. I just got out of the nurse's office, and he says I'm all good to go. Really, Elsa, I'm fine," he said, looking at me sincerely. I looked up at him.</p><p>Snapping back quickly, I said, "Oh, good. That's great. I am really sorry."</p><p>"It's fine. Hey, where are you off to?" he asked, as I began walking towards the office again.</p><p>"Um, I was called to the main office. They're probably going to suspend me," I said sadly, hugging my elbows.</p><p>"No they won't. Hey, mind if I walk you there?" he asked kindly, putting his hands in his pockets.</p><p>I stopped, staring up at him. "Don't you have class?"</p><p>He looked around sneakily, making me laugh. Pulling me low, he said, "Between you and me, I am still in the nurse's office."</p><p>I giggled, but then stopped myself. What was I doing? I had a boyfriend. Just a week ago, Hans was practically stalking me.</p><p>We began walking. "So," he said. "How's it between you and Jack?"</p><p>There it was. I sighed and looked away. "Honestly, it's...a little rough right now. I don't really know what's going on, but there's a lot happening now and I'm...I'm sure we'll sort it out," I confessed nervously, staring blatantly away from him.</p><p>"Oh. I'm sorry. I'm sure it will get better," he said consolingly. </p><p>"Thanks."</p><p>There was a pause, and I was filled with nerves. What was I supposed to say?</p><p>Hans then continued. "And, for the record, before the whole...head hitting thing, your magic was incredible."</p><p>I looked back up at him, starting to smile. "Really?" He nodded. "Thank you."</p><p>We arrived at the door of the main office and both stopped. I anxiously turned to him, nervously swinging my arms. "So...this is my stop," I said awkwardly, pointing to the office door.</p><p>"Yeah, I guess. See you in class?" he replied hopefully. I nodded, bid him goodbye, and shakily opened the door.</p><p>Minnie looked up from her computer, her face splitting into a sweet smile. "Hi, Elsa," she said. "You can go right on in to Mickey's office."</p><p>I gulped and opened the door to Mickey's office after knocking lightly. He looked up from some papers. "Good morning, Miss Arendelle! Please, please take a seat."</p><p>I slowly sank into the velvet seat. "So, I'm sure you know why I called you in here."</p><p>My throat tightened. "I am so sorry, I didn't - I understand if you want to throw me out - I don't-"</p><p>Mickey looked a bit confused, and then realized. "Elsa! Elsa, no, that is not what you're here for."</p><p>I stopped, open mouthed. "Really?" I asked hopefully.</p><p>"No, no, no. I do know that you lost a bit control at the talent show." That was an understatement. "And this demonstrated to me that our magical students need ways to learn how to control their powers, so that they keep themselves and the people around you safe. So, starting next semester, we will be replacing your physical education class with a collective powers class."</p><p>I gasped. "Really? You're not...you're not going to punish me?" <br/>He laughed and shook his head. "Oh, thank you so so much, Mr. Mouse," I said profusely, standing up.</p><p>"No problem, Elsa. Though I'd prefer that you kept this quiet between the other students."</p><p>"Of course," I said. Mickey showed me out, as I continued to thank him, and I skipped back to class, smiling all the way. </p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>I hurriedly grabbed at the homework that I had left about the room, crumpled and forgotten. I also searched for my textbooks, reaching under the bed. I heard someone open the door and jerked my head up, hitting it on the way. I groaned and rubbed it, looking at the door and praying it wasn't Hans. To my luck, Hiccup poked his head in. "Hey, bud," he said as he walked in, smiling.</p><p>"Hey," I grunted back, hurriedly stuffing my supplies into my bag.</p><p>"Where are you going?" he asked me innocently, looking at my textbooks. They'd been under my bed the entire semester, he probably was surprised to see them before the end of the year.</p><p>"The library," I answered, and then quickly added, "and no, you can't come."</p><p>Hiccup gasped. "Why not?" he whined, and I rolled my eyes.</p><p>Because I don't want you to see how stupid I am, I thought truthfully, but I said, "Because I'm going with Rapunzel. You can come next time."</p><p>"Ugh, all right," Hiccup groaned, and I began to rush out the door before he stopped me. "Hey! See you at the bistro tonight? My treat. You can bring Elsa if you want. Hey, is she okay?"</p><p>I paused dead in my spot. Elsa. "Yeah, maybe. See you later, Hic," I spit out, a little harsher than I meant it. I flashed an apologetic grin at him before slamming the door and jogging down the hallway, my head throbbing as I checked my phone for the time. Just as I did, I read a text that popped up. It was from my foster mother, Tiffany. My blood began to heat just at the sight of her name.</p><p>we're traveling on thanksgiving and winter break. don't bother coming back to our house.</p><p>I sighed and turned my phone off, exiting the elevator. Whatever. I wasn't even planning on going back to their house for any breaks anyways. I hated my foster parents, so I normally stayed with Elsa and her family.</p><p>Elsa. I knew damn well I should've gone after her on the talent show, I just...didn't. And I didn't know if I could explain myself to her yet, because I don't even know why I did it. I'm always supposed to be there for her. She counts on me. I'm always there for her. To confront her or not to confront her?</p><p>"Jack!" Well that question was easily answered.</p><p>I turned and saw my girlfriend running towards me, a relieved smile on her face. I was grateful that no trace of resentment showed...yet. "Hey," I said dumbly, smiling a bit as she stopped in front of me, that familiar glimmer in her blue eyes. Maybe this wouldn't go as badly as I thought.</p><p>"Jack, I am so — " she began, but her eyes caught on my arms full of notebooks. "What are you doing?"</p><p>I shrugged uncomfortably, not meeting her eyes. "Going to the library."</p><p>She brightened even more. "Really? To study? Oh, Jack, that's wonderful! I'm so proud of you!"</p><p>I smiled at her, but then her face lost some of its excitement. My stomach dropped. Here it comes. "But why didn't you tell me about this before? I could've helped you get your grades up. It seems like the whole school knew that you might be expelled except me. I'm your girlfriend, Jack."</p><p>I fiddled with the metal ring on my finger, warm against my freezing skin. "I don't know, it just didn't seem important."</p><p>Elsa scoffed. "Didn't seem important?" she repeated in disbelief. "Jack, if your grades stay down, you could be expelled again. We'd be separated, you'd lose Hiccup and all your friends. Not to mention that it would really really hurt your college applications, being expelled twice —"</p><p>That felt like being punched in the gut. I clenched my fists, trying to keep my cool. "I don't care, Elsa," I spat. "I don't care about college."</p><p>She started back, wide eyed. After a moment, she stuttered out, "But...but we were going to apply to Disney University together."</p><p>I laughed coldy, my heart hurting. "I don't care about that. You really think that I am going to have enough money to go to college?" I demanded loudly. "Tiffany and Donny don't give a shit about me. They're fostering me for the extra money, and the moment I turn eighteen they're kicking me out. I'm going to have to get a job at a gas station and work minimum wage jobs the rest of my life because all I can afford is a high school diploma, and now I might be too stupid to even get one of those." By now, tears were filling my eyes as I pointed into thin air, barely having control over what I was saying. My thoughts were exploding, rushing at the thought of an empty future. "So no, it doesn't matter that I'm going to be expelled twice because I am not going to be anything. I don't matter."</p><p>Elsa was hurt, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. "Jack, don't—don't say that. There's scholarships— we can get your grades up—"</p><p>I shook my head as she spoke, furiously wiping the tears from my eyes. I hadn't cried in years, and this is what caused it? "No, Elsa. It's—I've got to go, okay?"</p><p>I turned and ran, heading not for the library but for the woods, where my staff was hidden. I weaved through the trees, a few of my papers flying out my arms along the way. Finally reaching the pond, I stopped dead in my place, gasping. It was completely frozen over. The trees surrounding the clearing were covered in frost, and the water was turned to solid ice. Elsa had been here. Was this still from the talent show? I stared in awe at the thick frost, and the temperature had dropped about twenty degrees. I was filled with guilt. In order to do this, she must have been unimaginably upset. Why hadn't I gone after her?</p><p>I crunched through the ice, pushing white branches aside to finally unveil the familiar curve of my staff. It was blanketed with a layer of frost, but the moment my skin touched it it melted away.</p><p>I breathed a sigh of relief as I took it, my blood freezing comfortingly. I sat down by the edge of the pond, staring at it. I probably sat there for hours. My mind felt blank yet loud at the same time. Everything was falling apart. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>TINK</p><p>I sighed and put down my screwdriver, incredibly bored. I had already fixed my laptop, along with Alice's and Lottie's, and Robin's and Lilo's phones. I've been thinking of starting a business off for this. I had resorted to taking apart and fixing my favorite music box, doing anything to procrastinate from my homework.</p><p>I heard Wendy turn off her hairdryer from the bathroom. I perked up as she walked into the room, searching for something in her closet. I leaned back in my chair, nonchalantly placing my hands behind my head. "Hey," I said, spinning around.</p><p>Wendy turned around and smiled. "Hey, Tink. What are you doing?" she asked pleasantly, turning back to her closet. </p><p>I shrugged. "Just fixing a few things. Hey, where are Alice and Peter?"</p><p>"I think they're at the grocery store together," she said casually. She pulled out a pastel pink skirt and triumphantly placed it on her bed.</p><p>This was my chance. "Really? You're fine letting them be together again? Alone?" I asked her with feigned surprise.</p><p>Wendy stopped and looked up at me from her outfit. Got her. "Whatever do you mean? Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, trying to hide her alarm. I had her wrapped around my finger.</p><p>I shifted uncomfortably, intentionally not meeting her eyes. "Um, they didn't tell you?" I asked.</p><p>Wendy's eyes widened. "Tell me what?" she replied.</p><p>"I'm sorry. If they didn't tell you, then it's definitely not my place to say." I turned back to my work as if to end the conversation, but I knew that Wendy would not take that.</p><p>"Tink," Wendy continued, climbing over my bed to reach my desk, "please tell me. I won't say anything."</p><p>I glanced up at her and then shook my head sadly. "Really, Wendy, I'd feel too bad."</p><p>Wendy placed her dainty hands on my desk, and I could really detect the growing urgency in her voice. "Tinkerbell. Please tell me?"</p><p>I sighed and turned in my chair to look up at her, forcing an apologetic look into my eyes. "All right, but you didn't hear this from me," I told her,  and she nodded quickly. "You remember that 'friend date' you made Alice and Peter go on together, a month or two ago?"</p><p>Her face was already falling as she nodded slowly. "I thought it'd be good for them to bond...I sort of stole Peter from you and Alice, I know you used to be best friends."</p><p>I scoffed internally, and resisted rolling my eyes. No kidding, genius. You stole away my boyfriend. I continued with my scheme. "Well, Alice told me that they kissed...and it might have gotten a little more heated than that." Okay, maybe I was fabricating the story a little bit -- the kiss had been on "accident," if that can even happen.</p><p>Wendy's  mouth fell open a little bit in disbelief.  "What?" she finally breathed out. Tears began to mist her eyes. Ugh, what a pansy.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Wendy, I didn't want to tell you. I thought they had come clean to you.," I told her, grabbing her hand. She squeezed it and nodded, mustering out a small smile.</p><p>"Thanks for telling me, Tink. You're a really good friend," she said. I smiled again, and I hoped it don't come out as a smirk. She didn't seem to notice, though, as the door opened.</p><p>"We're back!" Alice sng, kicking open the door and holding up grocery bags. Peter smiled behind her, searching for his girlfriend who hastily dabbed at her eyes, plastering on a smile. I almost felt bad for her.</p><p>Almost. </p><p> </p><p>WENDY</p><p>"Hey, Darling," Peter said with a grin, that made those lovely butterflies pop up in my heart again. But...he and Alice? " Are you up to anything?"</p><p>I looked back at Tink, who was watching me closely. Alice was doing a little dance as she filled up our mini fridge. How could she do this to me? She's been my best friend ever.</p><p>I turned back to Peter, a painful smile forming on my lips. "Just picking out my outfit for tomorrow. Why?" I told him.</p><p>He smiled and held out his hand. "Come on, I want to show you something."</p><p>I hesitated. "Wendy," Alice said from behind me, and I turned to look at her. "Go! I'll finish your outfit."</p><p>I laughed. "Please don't," I replied, knowing full well that Alice and I did not share the same taste.</p><p>Alice stuck her tongue out at me and I giggled. I couldn't believe that such a friend could do something like kiss my boyfriend. I glanced at Tink, who gave me an apologetic smile. She really did seem sorry for me.</p><p>I carefully took Peter's hand and he took me out of the room as my friends waved to me. I looked at my feet, my hand limp in Peter's grasp. I didn't know how to act. Do I tell him that I knew? Or see how it plays out?</p><p>"Are you okay?" he asked, and I snapped my gaze up to him, smiling.</p><p>"Yes! Yes, of course," I answered quickly. "Where are we going?"</p><p>Peter tried to hold back another adorable  grin as he pushed his ginger hair out of his face. He lowered his voice and bend down to say into my ear, "Remember that time Tinkerbell told you about that secret place I showed her?"</p><p>My face soured at the memory. "Yes. Unfortunately."</p><p>He laughed. "Well, my love, that is exactly where we're going."</p><p>I smiled at him. "Where is it?"</p><p>"Well now I can't tell you that, it's a secret. You'll have to wait until we get there."</p><p>I squeezed his hand and he continued leading the way. We were nearing the lake, and I jokingly told him, "Peter, I'm sorry to break it to you, but the lake isn't really a secret."</p><p>Peter broke out into laughter. "Don't worry. It gets better."</p><p>He walked with me around the lake's rim. I stayed silent most of the time as he talked about whatever popped into that childish mind of his. He kept asking me if I was okay, and I assured him I was fine, though each time he asked me I felt worse and worse.</p><p>Peter started leading me through the trees, which were transitioning to a lovely fall color. "Peter -" I said hesitantly, jumping at each twig that cracked.</p><p>"Don't worry, I've got you," he told me warmly, looking back at me with safe brown eyes. My nerves immediately calmed down as I made eye contact with him. I nodded, and he squeezed my hand.</p><p>Showing me through the trees carefully, we eventually came to a halt. I looked around. The trees looked the same as all the other ones, there was nothing special about this place. I gave Peter a quizzical look, to which he smirked at. "Close your eyes," he instructed, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Please?"</p><p>"Peter-" I said in protest, but he took my wrists and placed my palms over my own eyes as I giggled and complied.</p><p>"Trust me," he said, pushing me lightly on the back to guide me. I felt conflicted. Could I trust him fully? What if he's cheating?</p><p>I walked slowly, blind, until Peter brought me to a stop. I heard leaves crunching as he moved around, and I felt suddenly alone. "All right," he said. "Open them."</p><p>I slowly removed my hands and opened my eyes. In front of me, amidst the autumn trees stood a wooden house. It was small, but one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Scraps of blankets hung as curtains in the cut out windows, and some weathered lawn chairs stood in front, facing the beautiful view of the lake. I grinned widely, spinning to look at Peter.</p><p>"Did you do this?"</p><p>He nodded excitedly, a happiness blazing in his eyes. "I worked on it all last year. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I just wanted to make it special." I smiled and he stepped closer to me to take my hands.  "Because I wanted to ask: Wendy Darling, will you go to the Winter Formal with me?"</p><p>My breath caught, and I paused. I wanted to say yes, but something stopped me. Alice stopped me. I looked up into his hopeful brown eyes, the ones I had fallen in love with. "Peter, I want to, I just..."</p><p>He furrowed his brows in concern. "Did I do something wrong?"</p><p>I couldn't look at him as I blurted out, "Did you kiss Alice?"</p><p>There was a long, painful, empty pause. Peter gaped as he finally asked, "What? Why-"</p><p>"Did you and Alice kiss?" I repeated, looking into his face this time.</p><p>He looked like a lost puppy. I regretted asking, and I knew I didn't really want to hear the answer. "I— we didn't...Yes," he finally admitted, and my heart broke as he spoke that one word. "But it was completely on accident!" he said rapidly, holding my waist. "Only once, and it didn't even matter. We didn't want to worry you!"</p><p>I pulled out of his grasp, my eyes starting to sting. "Why? Actually—Peter, I have to go," I stammered defeatedly, turning.</p><p>"Darling!" he called as I began to run along the lake. tears escaping my eyes as I ran to who knows where. What was I supposed to do now? My best friend and my boyfriend betrayed me. Now, all I felt was alone. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL</p><p>I glanced at the clock while gathering all of my paints and brushes into a box. I was going to the theater to paint some sets for the musical.</p><p>I heard someone's phone vibrating and looked over. Everyone was staring at Ariel, who was still huddled up in bed. She had barely moved from that spot since the talent show, only to go to school and then go straight back into her little cocoon. It was getting pretty unhealthy. But she was hurt, and I could tell she needed time to heal.</p><p>Ariel groaned and rolled over, grudgingly picking her phone up. By the look on her face, I could tell that it was Eric calling again, and she pushed the device onto the ground as it continued ringing. Anna, Moana and I shot each other a concerned look.</p><p>"Hey Ariel," I piped up, hoisting my box onto my hip. "You going to rehearsal today?"</p><p>Ariel stayed motionless. "No. I don't want to."</p><p>I wasn't going to give up and let her wallow in her misery any more. I put down the box and went to sit on her bed, causing her to roll over and look at me reproachfully. "I think it'd be good for you," I told her honestly. She rolled her eyes. "Besides, you haven't gone in like a week. You've missed a lot."</p><p>"So what? I'm an understudy," she grumped, folding her arms. I fought back a sigh.</p><p>"Yes, but you're still important. Aurora could very well hurt herself or something, so they need you there so that you know what you're doing and-"</p><p>"So Vanessa can steal my one chance to do something with Eric? Sounds great," Ariel cut in sarcastically, rolling back over.</p><p>I dug my fingernails into my palm. "Just — consider it, okay?"</p><p>There was no reply, so I took that as a cue to leave. I walked over to pick up my box again. "Well, I'll be at the theater. If you do go, Ariel, your rehearsal's in an hour. You might want to...shower or something," I said as kindly as I could, grimacing at the words. Anna bit back a snort.</p><p>I glanced over to my other two friends and mouthed urgently, Make her go. They both nodded in determination, and I closed the door behind myself.</p><p>Setting off along the hall, I continued thinking of Ariel. I mean, she was justified in being upset, but she was being a little dramatic. However, I don't want to belittle her problems—</p><p>"Ah!" I cried, colliding with someone as I rounded a corner, my box of supplies flying everywhere. I gasped. "I am so sorry," I said to the person in front of me, crouching down to frantically pick up the paints.</p><p>"It's no problem, Blondie," the person said, and I immediately blushed. I slowly looked up. Standing over me was Flynn Rider, smirking a bit. I pushed a nonexistent piece of hair behind my ear, filled with nerves.</p><p>I stood up quickly, nearly hitting him in the nose. He had a really nice nose... "You're Flynn Rider," I said, smiling.</p><p>He smirked more, proudly. "That's me. I don't believe I know your name-"</p><p>"Rapunzel!" I quickly answered</p><p>"Gesundheit."</p><p>I laughed. "People call me Punzie for short."</p><p>He surveyed me for a moment, and I blushed even more, not meeting his piercing gaze. "I think I like Blondie more."</p><p>Giggling nervously, I smiled again and bent down to get all my supplies, which he helped me with. "Thanks," I said as he placed the last brush inside.</p><p>"No problem, Blondie. See you around," he said smoothly. I gave a little wave as he sauntered away. I smiled softly to myself.</p><p>Blondie. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello my friends! it has taken a while to get this out, i am under so much stress right now. but i will keep working!</p><p>elsa is not going to get punished. in fact, they're getting a powers class! how do you think that's going to go? and is she making amends with hans? jack feels lost and alone, will anyone be able to get through to him? will he and elsa make up? tink is setting her plan into action; she told wendy about alice and peters kiss, and now wendy doesn't know what to do. will this work out in the way tink hopes? finally, will something happen between flynn and rapunzel, or will flynn stay with nala?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: if you could have any superpower, what would it be?</p><p>My Answer: definitely shapeshifting. then you don't need any of the other powers! you can be something that flies, runs fast, has super speed, all within one power!</p>
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<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>AURORA</p><p>I walked into the theater with a spring in my step. Our production of Grease's opening night was in almost three weeks, and I was very excited. We were starting to look really good, and still only had a few more scenes that needed cleaning and blocking.</p><p>I walked up onto the stage and into the wings, where my fellow cast members were warming up and stretching. "Hey Jasmine," I greeted as I set down my bag, taking off my warm sweatshirt. She said hello back, and then I spotted Ariel's bright red hair out of the corner of my eye. She was sitting silently, staring off into space with Anna, who looked a little bit concerned but kept her mouth shut. Ariel looked exhausted; her eyes were puffy and had bags under them, and she looked skinnier than normal.</p><p>I leaned over to Moana who was next to me. "Is Ariel all right?" I whispered.</p><p>Moana bit her lip. "She's, uh, having some boy troubles," she responded, her eyes flicking over to Eric. He was talking merrily with Henry.</p><p>"Eric?" I guessed, and Moana nodded.</p><p>"Did she tell you anything?" the brunette asked me, but I shook my head as I tied my hair up.</p><p>"I just know that she's crushing on him."</p><p>We were interrupted by Mr. Scar, who yelled, "Everyone onto the stage! All cast and crew, onto the stage please!"</p><p>Moana and I stood up and made our way into the open with everyone else as Ariel lagged behind. Something was definitely wrong with her. What had Eric done? "All right, as you know, opening night is three weeks from Friday," Scar said, glancing down at his clipboard through his glasses. This earned a cheer from all the students. "Yes yes yes. But we still have a lot to do. If you do not attend further rehearsals without a legitimate, proven reason, your understudy will step into your role and you will be kicked out of the show. Understand?"</p><p>We all gave murmurs of comprehension, and I could tell some people were terrified. "Marvelous. Today we will do scenes two, three, and Aurora I'd like you to run scene nine," he said, and I nodded with a smile.</p><p>"Scene two, beginning with Jan's line!"</p><p>We all scrambled to set up the tables we used, getting into our places and practicing lines and vocal warm ups. I stood backstage. Moana, as Rizzo sat with her legs up, Anna as Jan sat with a cafeteria tray, Giselle was Frenchy, back with me, and Tink was Marty. Then Moana, Anna, and Tink ran through their lines. The boys —Tramp as Kenickie, Henry as Putzie, Naveen as Sonny, Jim as Doody — did their part and then Giselle and I walked on.</p><p>"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Sandy. She just moved here from Salt Lake City!" Giselle said, introducing me to the rest.</p><p>"Hi, pleased to meet you," I said with an innocent smile as we sat down.</p><p>"So how do you like Rydell so far?" Tink asked.</p><p>"Oh, it seems real nice. I was supposed to go to Immaculata, but my father had a fight with Mother Superior over my patent leather shoes. She said that boys could see up my dress in my reflection."</p><p>People laughed, and then Cinderella entered as Patty Simcox. I knit my lips together; her portrayal of the annoying Patty always made me burst out in laughter, and Scar always reprimanded me for it. "Hi kids!" she yelled loudly, skipping over to us as the other girls groaned. I giggled</p><p>Soon Eric joined the boys on the other side of the stage. Then, it was time for a song.</p><p>"Summer lovin' had me a blast," Eric sang, his friends crowded around him.</p><p>I took a breath. "Summer lovin' happened so fast."</p><p>"Met a girl crazy for me," he said. <br/>I giggled, swaying to the accompaniment that Marie was playing. "Met a boy cute as can be."</p><p>"Summer days drifting away, to oh, oh those summer nights," we sang together. This was honestly one of my favorite songs. I loved singing duets and Eric was wonderful, plus the song itself was cute and playful.</p><p>"Well-a well-a well-a, huh! Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?" Jim questioned. He actually had an incredibly beautiful voice. His version of "Those Magic Changes" always entranced everyone. He seemed embarrassed about it, but I really thought that he was extraordinary.</p><p>"Tell me more, tell me more, like does he have a car?" Tink said with a smile.</p><p>Eric continued with his exaggerated cool guy facade. "She swam by me. She got a cramp."</p><p>"He ran by me! Got my suit damp!" I moved to hop onto the table, the Pink Ladies surrounding me. Cindy tugged on my hair and I fought back laughter, looking back into her bright blue eyes. Butterflies were sent through my stomach, but I brushed them away. I couldn't deal with that right now.</p><p>We proceeded into the chorus, and then Giselle asked me dreamily, "Was it love at first sight?" I giggled at her, because she seemed far away. Probably thinking about Mulan. I had seen them talking in the halls, and both were obviously head over heels. It was actually really adorable.</p><p>"Tell me more, tell me more, did you do it all night?" Tramp asked suggestively. We had decided to change the "Did she put up a fight?" line, but in my opinion, the new one wasn't much better.</p><p>The song began to come to a close. I knew that the lights were going to turn dark blue as Eric and I walked to the front and center of the stage, unbeknownst to each other. "It turned colder, that's where it ends," I sang sadly, holding my arms.</p><p>"So I told her we'd still be friends."</p><p>"Then we made our true love vows." That was probably my favorite note of the song.</p><p>"Wonder what she's doin' now."</p><p>We began to sing together, slowing the tempo even more as our voices blended. "Summer dreams ripped at the seams. But -- oh. Those summer nights!" We finished off strong, the chorus backing us up as we rang out the iconic notes.</p><p>When we finished, the lights would go out, and the ensemble and teachers burst into applause. Eric and I smiled at each other.</p><p>"Aurora!" Moana called from the table, which people were already helping to move away. I walked over to her happily. "During my line, do you want me to actually push you? Or we can fake it," she suggested.</p><p>I thought back to her "Cause he sounds like a drag" line, where she is supposed to shove me and a line of girls with her foot, just like in the movie.</p><p>"You can actually push me," I decided. "I think a fake one would be too complicated to coordinate."</p><p>Moana nodded. "Okay. I'll try not to go too hard." I smiled.</p><p>People got into their places for scene three and I watched from backstage as Jim took the spotlight. Finally, I quickly ran through "Hopelessly Devoted," which went smoothly.</p><p>We all began to pack up as I chatted with Edward. "Have a nice day!" Mrs. Rose said to the students as they stood up to leave, but someone began to shout. Everyone looked up, and Philip was standing in the middle of the stage. I grinned at him, and he shot a quick wink at me.</p><p>"Wait! Mrs. Rose, Mr. Scar, Ms. T, if you don't mind, Eric has something to say," he said, and everyone fell silent, looking around for Eric.</p><p>I heard the theater's door open loudly, and everyone's eyes snapped to the back of the audience. Eric was walking down the aisle, guitar in hand and smile. I wanted to squeal. This was for Ariel! As an apology for whatever he did! I excitedly looked back at her, and sure enough she had perked up, her eyes trained on him.</p><p>Eric strummed a note. Then, he began singing to the tune of the Sandra Dee Reprise. "Vanessa Sea, you have to be," he sang, and I deflated. Oh. Vanessa had stood up and walked to the front of the stage, a dramatic hand on her chest as her boyfriend continued singing. "The girl I take to the dance with me! Go buy your dress, while I must confess: I love you, Vanessa Sea!"</p><p>As he hung out the last note, people began to clap as Vanessa wiped away a fake tear. She nodded, accepting his proposal and went to kiss him.</p><p>As much as I hated to admit it, the dance proposal was really good. If only it had been for Ariel. As she dwelled on my mind, I turned around to search for her. All I could catch was a flash of her hair as she walked out the door. Poor thing.</p><p>Philip appeared behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist as he placed a sweet kiss on my cheek, causing me to giggle. "That was actually really good," I commented to him, and he nodded.</p><p>"As much as he didn't want to do it, Eric is very good at rhyming," he said, and I laughed. "And while we're on the subject -- Aurora, will you go to the Winter Formal with me?" he asked in a low voice, sending chills down my spine.</p><p>I twisted around to press a kiss to his lips. "Of course." </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MULAN</p><p>I paced my room as Pocahontas rolled her eyes at me. "Mulan, it's really going to be fine. She's the one who kissed you, remember?" she assured me, scattering sage leaves around.</p><p>I sighed and shook myself out relieving tension. Stepping in front of the mirror, I gazed at myself. I was wearing joggers and a tank top, plus a baseball cap. With my binder on as well, I looked really manly. "Hey," I said in a deep voice. Poca smiled.</p><p>"See? You'll be great. Now get out of here, I was going to meditate."</p><p>I laughed and grabbed the bunch of flowers I had bought. I backed out of the room, crossing my fingers at my roommate before she turned around and sat down. I took a deep breath and started towards the room, my hands sweating.</p><p>I finally reached it. 374. I knocked quietly and the rock music quieted, Meg opening the door. She smirked at me. "Hey, Mulan. Are you not packing?" Tomorrow was the day mostly everyone was going home for fall break, and everyone was aflutter with excitement and deciding what clothes to pack.</p><p>I shook my head. "Nah. It's not really worth it to fly all the way back to China for three days," I told her, and she nodded.</p><p>"Well, I would offer you to come home with me, but I don't think you want to meet Hades, aka the devil himself," she said bitterly, and I gave a grateful smile.</p><p>"Thanks, Meg. I'll be fine here. Shang and I will hang out. Um, I was actually wondering if Giselle was here?" I asked, still standing awkwardly in the doorway. Meg looked a little bit shocked at first, turning around to glance into the room.</p><p>"Yeah, she's a little...busy," she said with a pause. "Um, she got some rodents and birds to help her pack."</p><p>I gaped a little bit. "Giselle!" Meg shouted.</p><p>Some soft humming, which I hadn't noticed before, ceased, and her sweet voice chimed, "I'll be right back, darlings!"</p><p>She soon appeared at the door, beaming. "Mulan!" Her skinny arms wrapped around me as I blushed.</p><p>She pulled away and I cleared my throat. "Um, Giselle, before you leave, I was wondering...." I held out the flowers, which her eyes lit up at. "If you'd want to go to the Winter Formal with me."</p><p>Giselle squealed, hugging me again. "Of course! Oh,this will be so fun! Thank you!"</p><p>I smiled at her, my nerves calming. Her eyes were just so pretty and bright. "Great! So, um, I'll see you after break?" I stammered. I felt like I needed a sweat towel.</p><p>"Sure! Hey, are you going anywhere?"</p><p>"No, all my family is in China. I'll just be staying here."</p><p>Her eyes widened, and they looked devastated. "That's awful! No one should be alone on the holidays!"</p><p>I chuckled. "We don't really celebrate Thanksgiving-"</p><p>"You could stay with me!" she cried in excitement, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. "I'm going to stay at my sister's, it would be great! Please say yes, Mulan."</p><p>I realized she was holding my hands. She wouldn't stop looking at me with those twinkling puppy dog eyes and I finally caved. "Okay. I mean, would it be okay with your sister?"</p><p>Giselle clapped. "Yay! Yes, she lives near university campus, so it's not even that far. Her roommate is gone for the week, so there is plenty of room. This is going to be so fun!"</p><p>I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Okay, I just don't want her to be mad."</p><p>"Of course not. Amy is the best. But you should probably pack."</p><p>"Right. Right, okay. Thank you."</p><p>"Sure! I'll come to your dorm tomorrow morning."</p><p>I nodded and smiled, then skipped all the way back to my dorm. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ANNA</p><p>Thanksgiving break came quickly. Schoolwork was piling up, and Grease rehearsals were getting more intense by the minute.</p><p>I went back home with Elsa, and Jack came with us as always. Since we knew him, he had always come home with us for every break, since his adoptive parents despised him. He was one of my best friends too—if Elsa was feeling antisocial, I always had Jack to talk to.</p><p>But this time, things seemed unimaginably tense between the two. They barely talked, and the dinner table was filled with awkward silences that me and my parents desperately tried to fill.</p><p>Thanksgiving dinner was better, though. Kristoff came over! We had agreed that if he came to my place for Thanksgiving, I would go to his for most of winter break. My parents really liked him. I mean, of course I knew they would, he's basically perfect. The way his hair falls into his eyes, his soft heart, his sense of humor...</p><p>Oh, he also asked me to be his girlfriend! We were sitting in my room, watching a movie when he asked me. Of course I said yes, and it ended pretty intimately. I was really, really happy about how we were going.</p><p>On the other hand, I was trying to keep my hopes high for Elsa and Jack. They barely acknowledged each other when passing in hallways. After our big dinner, we had been sitting around while watching the first Christmas movie. Clutching her hot chocolate, Elsa spoke up hopefully. "So all of you are coming to my skating competition?"</p><p>"Of couse, sweetie!" our mom said with a smile.</p><p>"Wouldn't miss it for the world! Kristoff can come, right?" I grinned as Kristoff gently wiped some whipped cream off my upper lip.</p><p>"For sure," Elsa told me, smiling at Kristoff. She turned to Jack with hopeful eyes. "Jack?"</p><p>He looked uncomfortable. I felt my face begin to heat up with anger at his hesitation. "I...I'm sorry, Elsa, I can't," he said, fiddling with his hands.</p><p>She paused and then looked into her lap. "Oh. That's okay."<br/>An uncomfortable silence filled the room. My parents exchanged the look. I tried to drill a hole through Jack with my eyes. How dare he!</p><p>Jack stood up, muttering that he'd be back before walking to his guest bedroom. I quickly stood up and began to stomp after him. "Anna," Kristoff said as a warning, and I turned back to him with a reassuring smile.</p><p>"It'll be okay, Kris," I told him and turned to follow Jack. I knocked quietly on his door. "Jack."</p><p>There was no reply. I walked in. Jack was standing by the window. "Jack, is everything okay?" I asked him softy, taking a different approach from anger.</p><p>He turned around to look at me. There were tears on his face. "Everything is falling apart," he said to me quietly. "And I don't know how to fix it."</p><p>I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay Jack."</p><p>"I just..." he continued, "everything is my fault. And I keep drifting further and further away from Els. I don't know what I did."</p><p>I thought for a minute. "Do...do you want me to talk to her for you?"</p><p>He looked at me with watery blue eyes. "Will you?"</p><p>"Yeah, of course. I'll be back."</p><p>I closed his door and then headed over to Elsa's. I raised my fist and performed our secret knock, getting flashbacks of our younger years when she barely came out of her room. Things were different now, thankfully. "Anna?" Elsa said, and I confired that it was me before walking inside. She was sitting on her bed, looking small. "Are you okay?"</p><p>She sighed. "Everything is falling apart," Elsa whispered, and I smirked since Jack had said the same thing.</p><p>I joined her on her bed. "Why do you think that is?"</p><p>She hesitated, and I noticed that her gloved hands were shaking. I remembered that her powers were viable here. But I wasn't scared of her. She wouldn't hurt me again. "He never told me about his grades, and he won't even let me help him. I needed him at the talent show too, and he just left me alone. He.... We're just drifting apart and I don't know what to do."</p><p>"I think...I think that you two should talk to each other. It seems like you feel the same way. So just talk it out. I think you can work things out and it will all be fine," I advised her. She nodded and smiled sadly at me.</p><p>"Thanks, Anna. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you into this."</p><p>I smiled at her and hugged her tightly. We stayed there for quite a long while before I left her alone, walking back to my parents and boyfriend. He was helping them wash the dishes.</p><p>"Hey, Kristoff," I said, giving him a kiss on his cheek.</p><p>"Hi, Anna," he replied fondly.</p><p>"You two run along, you've done too much, Kristoff," my mom said kindly.</p><p>"No, I -" he began to protest, but I squeezed his arm.</p><p>"Go, Kristoff," my dad told him.</p><p>Kristoff thanked him and dried his hands off, and then I pulled him into my room. I pressed a kiss to his lips earnestly, and he made a noise of surprise before pulling me closer. I melted into his strong arms, savoring the feeling of our eyelashes brushing together, his arms around my waist, mine around his neck. <br/>We finally broke apart and I went to sit on my bed, grinning before he sat next to me. I took a breath. "I love you," I blurted out.</p><p>Kristoff stared at me. That was the first time either of us had said it to each other. "I love you too," he replied, and he kissed me again. I smiled. I had never felt so happy. </p><p> </p><p>MEG</p><p>As soon as I exited my Uber, I slammed the door and stomped into Hades's ginormous black mansion. I hated this house. The familiar statue of the three headed dog glared up at me, and I almost growled back at it. His two live dogs, Panic and Pain, were aggressively barking at me from behind their gate, but I hardly noticed them.</p><p>Using my key, I stormed through the front door. It smelled purely of cologne, and I almost gagged. It smelled like a middle school boys' locker room. I never have gotten used to it. It really was horrible.</p><p>Speaking of horrible, Hades's voice rang through the large black hallways. "Is that my Megladon? My little Nutmeg? My Meggy-poo?" he walked out of his office, his arms spread wide in his classic blue suit.</p><p>"Go to hell, Hades," I muttered, and began to drag my bag up the black marble stairs.</p><p>He kept on talking. "So, where's old Hercules?" he inquired, dramatically looking around. "Don't romantically involved people go to each other's houses, meet the parents?"</p><p>I scoffed and turned around to look down at him harshly. "As if I would bring him here. If you really want this plan to work, it definitely wouldn't if he got one look at your ugly face."</p><p>He chuckled. "Believe me, your looks aren't doing me any favors too," he told me, and I rolled my eyes and began to walk away. "But tell me, sweetheart, how far have you gotten? Blowjobs, handjobs, sex? I need you to move it along, sister. Zeus's business is growing faster than ever.</p><p>I felt like throwing up, but turned to look him coldly in the eye. "We haven't done anything. I've barely even kissed him yet." The night of the concert played back in my mind, but I tried to push it away. Someone's hands on me made me squirm still. Hades gasped.</p><p>"Excuse me? You've barely -- Oh, come on, Meg! I thought you were the slut I could count on!" he yelled angrily, his eyes and face almost turning fiery red. I flinched. He was starting to ascend the stairs, threatening me with every step.</p><p>"I mean, you've had sex, right? Oh, please tell me you're not a loser and that you've had sex already," he said exasperatedly. I began to slowly take steps back, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The dress being ripped off of me. My calls for help. Adam's too-strong hands holding me down.</p><p>"Yes -" I choked out. "It - it wasn't good."</p><p>Hades rolled his eyes and started coming towards me slower. "Oh, please honey. Sex normally isn't for the girl, keep that in mind. Especially for whores, such as yourself."</p><p>My eyes stung. "Stop it," I whispered, and I finally reached the second floor. I turned and flung myself into my room, locking the door and sitting against it, breaking into sobs.</p><p>I couldn't get it out of my head. It was always there. The feel of the tears rolling down my temples and into my hair. His rough hands tugging me around. His sharp slap when I tried to scream. It was too much. It was too much. Too much. </p><p>•••</p><p> </p><p>Fourteen hours later, I finally stepped outside of my room. Besides the few snacks I had packed for the journey over here, I hadn't eaten anything all day, and my stomach acids were going to eat me alive. It was still 11 PM, so I knew Hades would still be up; he usually goes to sleep at about 3 AM, aka the Devil's hour.</p><p>I stopped my trembling by taking a deep breath, overriding my fear by thinking about how hungry I was. Of everything in this world, -- including death, snakes, spiders, heights, and all other phobias -- there were only three things I was afraid of: Hades, Adam, and falling in love again.</p><p>I immediately spotted Hades sitting menacingly silent in his great blue armchair, facing away from me. I gulped and attempted to tiptoe towards the kitchen, as quiet as possible. "Meg," he said softly, and I stopped dead in my tracks. "Come here."</p><p>I held my breath and then walked silently to stand in front of him. His fingertips were touching, and he had this chilling smile on his lips. "Sit," he ordered, gesturing to a chair. I slowly went to sit down across from him. "So. Would you like to tell me perhaps why you have barely even kissed Mr. Olympus? And why is that so, when I told you to manipulate him almost two months ago?"</p><p>I did not flinch, baring my teeth as I responded firmly, "I am not a slut."</p><p>He inhaled through his long nose and waited for a minute, staring at me. Finally, he stood abruptly and took the TV remote. "I want to show you something," he said, and turned the TV on. An image appeared. It showed his company, the Underworld's logo and growth charts. The line was red and was declining day by day, losing more and more money. "This is how bad we're getting. See that chart? We're almost as bad as Amazon. Now, take a look at Olympus."</p><p>He switched the slide to show Olympus's logo, a giant thunderbolt. Right next to it was another chart. The green line was skyrocketing, and their money was increasing by the second. But why should I care? "This is how Zeus is doing. This is not good, sweetheart. He's thriving, and we're dying. We're dying, Meg!"</p><p>He put the remote down and strode over to me, tearing my eyes off the screen to look at him. "It's up to you to turn that around," Hades told me with a glare. "You capture Hercules's heart. Influence him. He will go down, and so will his grades, sports, and utter perfection. Zeus will be devastated, sales will drop, people will turn to me, and I will be triumphant!"</p><p>I crossed my arms in defiance. "Do your dirty work yourself."</p><p>Hades laughed slowly, and his eyes were simmering. "Honey, please. Do this for your daddy, will you? It seems like you already have the upper hand on him."</p><p>"And if I don't?" I demanded.</p><p>How bad could he punish me? I've already been to hell and back multiple times. He can do his worst.</p><p>His eyes hardened, and he glared down at me. "I will kick you out."</p><p>My face broke out into a smile as I laughed in his face. "Oh, please. It would be an honor to get away from you!"</p><p>His thin lips curled into a disgusting grin. "Oh really? You would like to go back to foster care? Be my guest, Nutmeg."</p><p>I shuddered. No. I would not go back into the system. Not ever.</p><p>Shoving my hands onto my hips, I stomped my foot and forced my nose close to his face. "Fine, you bastard."</p><p>He smirked as I stormed away, anger searing through my veins.</p><p>Shit. </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p>My eyes were unfocused as I wrung my hands nervously. I had been waiting for six hours, watching nurses and doctors run around, patients taking strolls and families waiting too. My phone had buzzed countless times, but I ignored it. I was too anxious to talk to anyone, especially not my girlfriend. It was ironic; usually, your girlfriend was supposed to be comforting you in this situation, but she was probably just complaining to me that she spilled salad dressing on her skirt.</p><p>"Mr. Caspian?" someone asked, and I snapped my head up.</p><p>I quickly stood, and Grimsby, my former-butler-now-caretaker did too. "Is she okay?" I asked the nurse urgently, and she didn't smile. My stomach dropped.</p><p>"I am so sorry, Mr. Caspian. There was heavy bleeding in her frontal lobe, and we were unable to stop it in time. We did everything we could to save her. I am so sorry."</p><p>I couldn't feel my body, I couldn't feel my mind. I dropped into the chair, my eyes empty. She was dead. The last person...she's gone.</p><p>And I didn't say goodbye.</p><p>I felt a tear fall from my eye. "I am so sorry." I couldn't even register whether it was the nurse or Grimsby.</p><p>What was I going to do? I am alone. I am all alone.</p><p>"Sir, I..." I glanced up to see Grimsby dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. "Would you like to see her?"</p><p>I nodded slowly and stood up, following the sorrowful nurse down the halls. She led the way to the surgery wing, and I at last I spotted a covered figure. My soul broke in two.</p><p>I ran to the bed. "Mom," I cried, my voice breaking as a nurse pulled the bloody sheet back. Her once beautiful face was now sickly pale. Her black hair was shaved and uneven. Her head was wrapped in a bloody bandage. Was her skull still open? Her eyes were. Those beautiful, green eyes which I had always admired were now lifeless and dull. She was gone.</p><p>Tears streamed down my cheeks. "Mom...I'm sorry," I said sadly. "I know you didn't really remember me but...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not visiting you. I -- I'm so sorry." I threw my arms over her limp body, sobbing.</p><p>"Could we have some time?" Grimsby requested quietly. The doctors nodded and left, pulling me and my mom into an empty room. Grimsby stood to wait outside for me.</p><p>I sat by her legs and gently closed her eyelids. I couldn't bear to look at her empty eyes anymore. </p><p>"I'm sorry. You wouldn't believe what has happened lately. Well...I don't know if you know this, but I'm dating Vanessa Sea to pay the medical bills. I guess I don't have to do that anymore. But I would date Vanessa forever if it meant I could have you back," I confessed, wiping at my eyes.</p><p>"But there's this girl I really like. She has such beautiful hair, her eyes, and her smile...but I hurt her, Mom. Vanessa makes me do all these awful things to her. Now that you're, um, gone, I can stop dating Vanessa and maybe ask out Ariel. Would that be okay with you? To move on? Well not move on, but you know what I mean. I am going to miss you. I haven't talked to you -- the real you -- in a few years, but I always knew...I always knew you were still here. I love you Mom. I'm sorry."</p><p>I pressed a light kiss to her forehead, a tear falling onto her face.</p><p>What a way to spend fall break.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: oof. i'm sorry. that was intense.</p><p>but hey! i'm back! i am in paris, and it is so frickin magical here. sadly, i am a bit sick, but feeling better by the day.</p><p>so, i brought you guys a long chapter! eric asked vanessa to the dance in a pretty clever way, and grease is coming up!! mulan finally asked giselle out, and do you think their time together over the short break will go well? anna and kristoff are obviously going very well, i really love them. however, jelsa is getting pretty rocky, but it seems that they both want to make changes with that. will they be able to fix it? hades is really pushing meg onto hercules, and it has taken its toll on her. will she be okay? what will she do to ahem, seduce him? finally, i'm sorry to do this to you, but eric's mom died in surgery. what does this mean for him, vanessa, and ariel?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What are your aspirations when you're older?</p><p>My Answer: i honestly don't know, but i'm still pretty young. writing would be amazing, but it's pretty difficult to make a good living off it. i also am interested in psychology or psychiatry. also? honestly while looking up all the brain stuff for this chapter it would be pretty cool to be a neurosurgeon, but idk if i could go through medical school.</p>
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<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 37</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TINKERBELL</p><p>After Wendy and Peter left the dorm room, all that was left for me to do was wait. I did so patiently on my bed, scrolling through my phone. Alice eventually announced that she was going to take herself to a new movie, which took a lot of pressure off of me. I didn't have to think of a way to get her out of here.</p><p>About an hour passed. Finally, I heard the door begin to open. I sat up. It was either Peter or Wendy, and I knew exactly what my move would be for either of them.</p><p>It was Peter. He had opened the door with his spare key. He looked pathetic. His red hair flopped sadly onto his forehead and he was looking down, hands in his pockets.</p><p>I stood. "Peter?" I said, making my way slowly over to him.</p><p>He finally lifted his face. There were tears rolling down his freckled cheeks. "Oh, Peter, what happened?" I cried, running over to touch his shoulders.</p><p>"Tink..." he said sadly, leaning into me. I rubbed his arms comfortingly, leading him over to my bed to sit. "Wendy found out."</p><p>I looked at him, feigning confusion. "Found out what?" I asked him, taking one of his hands.</p><p>Peter locked eyes with me, wiping away his tears. "Tink, you have to promise me that you will never tell anyone. Me and Alice said we'd keep it to ourselves, I have no idea how it got out -"</p><p>"Peter!" I exclaimed, placing a hand to his cheek. "It's okay. Just tell me." I knew exactly what he was going to say, but this would lead me off the trail.</p><p>He sighed. "A month ago, Wendy made me and Alice go on an outing together, as friends. But Alice got a little carried away, and she accidentally kissed me. We said we wouldn't tell anyone including Wendy because it didn't matter."</p><p>My eyes widened. "How — how did she find out?" I stammered.</p><p>He shrugged. "I don't know. But now I don't think she'll forgive me."</p><p>I nodded. "I sort of have to agree. Especially since you didn't tell her right afterwards; it makes you guys look guilty. I mean...maybe it did matter?" I told him slyly. The way his facial expression changed, I knew I had him right where I needed.</p><p>I watched as my crush grew sadder and sadder. "You're right," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. A fresh set of tears emerged and he looked at me. "Tink, will I ever get her back?"</p><p>I pulled him into a tight hug, hoping he could smell Wendy's perfume on me. "I don't know....I'm here, I'm here."</p><p>"I can't....And I can't even turn to Alice, that's what started this all. Tink, you're all I have. I knew...I knew that you are the only one who I can count on. You're the best friend ever. I love you, Tink. Thank you."</p><p>I squeezed him harder. A beam enveloped my face at those three words. I knew they were platonic. But one day they wouldn't be. I kissed his ginger hair, rocking him back and forth. "I'm always here for you. I love you, Peter."</p><p> </p><p>CINDERELLA</p><p>"Okay and five, six, seven, eight!" Rosetta called, clapping her hands. We were preparing for a pep rally that was going to happen next week.</p><p>Aurora stepped into mine and Anastasia's hands as we lifted her into the air. Rosetta continued to count for us as she straightened up as Marian spotted her, "One, two, three, four!" She put her arms up, grinning broadly. "And spin!"</p><p>Anastasia, Marian, and I bent our knees and gently tossed Aurora, who spun in the air. We successfully caught her, but she faltered, tipping forward. "Sorry!" she apologized as we helped her get down a little frantically. "That one's really hard to land."</p><p>"Oh, I hear you, sugar," Rosetta told her with a knowing look. "To help, I always strengthen my core, and Cindy, make sure your hand is steady and securely under her shoe."</p><p>I nodded. "I've got you, Rose," I told my best friend with a wink.</p><p>Aurora giggled. "Thanks, C. I trust you."</p><p>We smiled at each other and Rosetta clapped her hands again. "Let's try that one more time, ladies, you're doin' great. All right, is everyone ready? Anastasia, stop playin' with your hair, we don't want to give Aurora lice, now do we? Ready? Okay. From the top. And five, six, five, six, seven, eight!"</p><p>Aurora stepped into our palms again. "Go Mice!" she yelled cheerfully. She put her arms up, flashing a pose and then we transferred her weight onto one leg as she kicked up the other.</p><p>"Good, honey! And three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and spin!" Rosetta shouted, and the three of us prepared to throw her again.</p><p>Get a good grip on her shoe, I concentrated, and when she came down, I watched her foot as if in slow motion. However, I got my hand in the wrong position. It tangled with Marian's, and we both lost our grip on her leg. Aurora screamed and crumpled to the ground, a loud crack ringing through the gym. Everyone stopped. My breathing stopped. My heart stopped. What had I done?</p><p>Aurora lay on the ground, clutching her left leg with tears streaming down her face. "Honey, honey, you're gonna be okay, it's okay," Rosetta said, pushing through us. Me and the others were all stunned, frozen in place as we stared at her. As I watched her in pain, it felt like torture.</p><p>"Get someone! You guys, get help!" Rosetta yelled at the cheerleading squad from Aurora's side. People immediately scrambled around. I slowly knelt by Aurora.</p><p>"Rory," I said quietly, taking her hand. She squeezed mine tightly, gritting her teeth. "Rory, I am so sorry."</p><p>She mustered a pained smile. "It's okay, C. Really, I'm fine. It's probably just a sprain."</p><p>I shook my head, wiping away a few of her tears. "No, it's my fault. I'm so sorry, I —"</p><p>She squeezed my hand again, and my eyes met her violet ones. "C, it's okay. It's okay, it's not your fault."</p><p>I was going to reply, but Florian started yelling. "Out of the way, I got Dr. Sweet!"</p><p>All of us quickly vacated her side and the nurse came running in, already pulling supplies out of his bag. "What happened?" he asked.</p><p>"We lost our grip on her, during a stunt. She landed wrong on her leg," Marian explained, wringing her fingers.</p><p>Dr. Sweet furiously got to work, asking Aurora questions and examining her leg. He ordered a wheelchair. Florian, Edward, Dr. Sweet and I helped lift Aurora into her chair. She had put on a brave, unscathed face. I wish I could do that.</p><p>"Will someone please tell Philip what happened? And, I guess tell Ariel that she'll have to step in for me," Aurora said, her lip finally quivering again at the thought of the musical. People gasped, me included.</p><p>Grease! Opening night was two weeks away! Aurora would be taken out, she couldn't possibly dance on this leg.</p><p>I ran to the side of her chair as she was wheeled out of the gym. "Rosie, I am so sorry!" I wept, holding her hand and bravely kissing it, getting it drenched in my pathetic tears.</p><p>Aurora sniffed and gave me a sweet smile and she was finally rolled away. Someone put their hands on my shoulders, startling me. I turned around to see Florian's kind brown eyes. "Hey. It's all right," he said, and hugged me. I was grateful for his support. He was one of my best friends.</p><p>"I dropped her, Florian," I told him after the hug, glancing back at the gym's exit.</p><p>"No, you didn't. It's not your fault. Rosetta said that practice is over for the day, so how about you get your stuff and we can go back to your dorm. Okay?" he suggested, his warm smile making me feel better. I nodded and went over to the wall to grab my bag.</p><p>Marian sighed, closing up her water bottle. "I do hope Aurora is okay."</p><p>Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Well, you guys were the ones that dropped her, not me," she said, pulling out a mirror. I glanced over at my stepsister, trying to ignore her as I put on my street shoes. I could tell that Marian, however, was hurt.</p><p>"Oh, Cinderella," Anastasia continued, looking away from reapplying powder. "Drizella and Vanessa and I couldn't help but notice that our laundry hasn't been picked up for two days. You should really do that. Also -" She began to dig in her bag, pulling out a few large bills "- Mother wants you to buy the two of us some shoes for the dance. They must match our dresses too, we'll send you pictures. Got it? We need them by tomorrow. And make sure to bring back all the change."</p><p>I bit my tongue, taking the money and storing it my purse. Since my father married Lady Tremaine, I had been doing housework and the likes for the Tremaines all the time. Now since my stepsisters have roomed with Vanessa, I do hers as well.</p><p>"What is goin' on over here? Anastasia," Rosetta said, walking over with her bag slung over her shoulder.</p><p>I looked up with a start. Marian looked a little bit frightened and confused, and Rosetta looked plain mad. "It's fine, Rosetta. Nothing to worry about," I told her quickly, smiling.</p><p>The co-captain raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, sweet pea?"</p><p>I nodded and Anastasia flashed her a sickly sweet smile, batting her eyelashes. "It's all peace and love over here, captain!" she said.</p><p>Rosetta squinted her eyes. "For the record, what happened today to Aurora was nobody's fault. I don't want to hear any blame goin' around, okay?"</p><p>We all nodded and Rosetta left, followed by Anastasia singing, "Except for Cinderella! Laundry and shoes, you got that?" I nodded, and Florian appeared by my side.</p><p>"You ready to go, Cindy?" he asked, casting a warning look at Anastasia.</p><p>I smiled gratefully and nodded, saying goodbye to Marian who looked extremely concerned. Florian kindly walked with me to the dorms, filling my emptiness with delightful small talk all while holding my bag. When we reached my room, I said, "I'm probably just going to do some homework, maybe take a nap. But thank you. I'll text you and Snow later?"</p><p>Florian, his arm resting on the doorframe, nodded. "Okay. Remember, you can always talk to me and Snow. Okay? Love you, C."</p><p>"Thank you. Love you too, Florian," I replied with a smile. I picked up my bag and slowly closed the door as he waved.</p><p>Once Snow's boyfriend was gone, I turned to face my room and sighed. There was a lot to be done. I started by tying a handkerchief around my hair and putting my earbuds in, blasting my favorite playlist. Then I began to pick up the room, folding clean clothes and throwing dirty ones into the hamper. I dusted off me and my friends' desks, organizing them and making sure their beds were all made up. I organized and cleaned up the bathrooms and the closets. Finally, I picked up our room's hamper and grabbed some detergent.</p><p>I made my way down the hall, humming a soft tune until I came upon room 387. I knocked hesitantly and someone harshly opened the door, making me jump. It was Vanessa, scowling. "What do you want?" she demanded, brandishing a curling iron at me. I dodged it, my eyes wide. </p><p>"I was just here to pick up the laundry," I told her.</p><p>"Oh. Well pick it up yourself, they're in here," she said, walking back into the bathroom and leaving the door open. I walked in.</p><p>Their room was an absolute mess. I was itching to organize it, but I finally spotted the three laundry bags. I wasn't sure exactly which of the strewn-about clothes were supposed to be in it, so I took the time to just add all of the clothes that covered the floor. I quietly left the room, closing the door behind me after pushing all of the hampers outside. I didn't know how I was going to carry six people's clothes. Like my mother had, I resolved to balance one on my head, holding the two others. I walked slowly, with immense concentration, to the empty laundry room.</p><p>As I sat down to separate the clothes, my favorite song came on. I began to sing along softly, "Oh, sing sweet nightingale, Sing sweet nightingale, High above me."</p><p>"You've always had a beautiful singing voice," someone said, and I gasped and whipped around.</p><p>"Henry!" I exclaimed, and jumped up to hug my boyfriend.</p><p>"Hey, love," he said, kissing me. "How are you?"</p><p>I sighed. "Oh, you know, I made my best friend break her leg today," I said, despair rolling through me.</p><p>Henry's tone saddened. "Yeah, I heard about that. But it's not your fault, Ella, okay?" He tilted my chin up with his finger, forcing me to look into his beautiful brown eyes.</p><p>I nodded. "Okay," I said in a whisper, and kissed him again.</p><p>I then sat back down to continue sorting the clothes, and he sat down by me. I unplugged my earphones to let him listen to the music with me. "Are you really wearing all these clothes?" he asked with a chuckle, looking at all the wrinkled clothes surrounding him.</p><p>My face immediately flushed red, and I continued sorting without looking at him. "No, I'm washing Aurora's and Snow's too."</p><p>Henry paused. "I really don't think any of you would be wearing this." I looked over to see him holding up a dark blue shirt with a long, v-neck that practically down to the bottom of the shirt.</p><p>I snorted. "No, you're right. Fine. I may also be doing my stepsisters' and Vanessa's laundry as well," I confessed timidly.</p><p>Henry dropped Vanessa's shirt in disgust. "What? Ella!"</p><p>I sighed. "I know, I know. I shouldn't let them push me around anymore, I just...I don't know. It's really fine."</p><p>"No it's not! You're basically a slave to your own sisters, that's illegal."</p><p>"Step sisters!" I interjected. I wanted to make sure it was clear that I was not exactly related to them.</p><p>"Even more so. I will not stand this any more," he said angrily, pushing himself up and beginning to storm out of the room.</p><p>"Love! Henry, wait," I called, standing up and grabbing his t-shirt. "Our favorite song is on." He turned back, and I forced out my puppy eyes, smiling. "Dance with me?"</p><p>He looked like he was about to protest, but I pushed out my bottom lip as I took one of his hands. He finally rolled his eyes and sighed playfully. "Oh, fine. You know I can't resist you."</p><p>He took my waist, holding one of my hands as my other rested behind his shoulder. "It's very clear<br/>Our love is here to stay<br/>Not for a year, but ever and a day," Frank Sinatra sang and we began dancing through the piles of clothes, messing up my sorting. "The radio<br/>And the telephone<br/>And the movies that we know<br/>May just be passing fancies<br/>And in time may go<br/>But oh my dear<br/>Our love is here to stay<br/>Together we're going a long long way."</p><p>I pressed my forehead to his, laughing as we swayed back and forth, feeling foolish but elated in my leggings and t-shirt. But everything was perfect. "In time the Rockies may crumble<br/>Gibraltar may tumble<br/>They're only made of clay<br/>But our love is here to stay."</p><p>I admired every line of Henry's face. His eyebrows, the curve of his nose. The crinkles around his warm brown eyes. They almost reminded me of Aurora's. I hoped she was okay. I couldn't live without her. The instrumental part began, and Henry spun me around on his finger. "Ah, stop!" I giggled, getting dizzy. I collapsed into him, but he kept me on my feet and we continued to sway. </p><p>Henry sang along to the last lyric. "But our love, our love is here to stay."</p><p> </p><p>ANNA</p><p>All four of us — Moana, Punz, Ariel, and I — were lounging in our dorm again. We didn't get out much. I would love to, but rehearsals, homework, and Ariel's depressed attitude kept us pretty housekept. I scrolled through my Snapchat, effectively procrastinating from my math homework. In between sending silly pictures to Kristoff, Elsa, Punz, and Jack, I scrolled through people's stories. All of them were pretty bland until I came upon Snow's.</p><p>It showed a blond girl, whom I eventually realized was Aurora, being wheeled out of the gym in a chair, Dr. Sweet attending to what seemed like her foot. I gasped. Was Aurora hurt?</p><p>"What?" Rapunzel and Moana asked immediately, incredibly bored.</p><p>"Have you seen Snow's snap story?" I asked, keeping my eyes glued to the screen.</p><p>"No!" The two scrambled over to crowd around my chair as I showed them the short, repeating video.</p><p>"Is that me?" Rapunzel asked in confusion, squinting her eyes. I looked up at her over my shoulder, frowning.</p><p>"No, you dummy! It's Aurora!" I told her, and they both gasped.</p><p>"What happened?" Moana asked in surprise, and Punz whipped out her phone.</p><p>After a few moments, she reported, "Philip says that Aurora fractured her tibia...I don't really know what that is, I'm not very good at anatomy."</p><p>"Ariel!" Moana shouted, turning around. Ariel was moping with her earbuds in, watching Grey's Anatomy. She slowly took one headphone out and looked at Moana with disinterest.</p><p>"Guess what!" Punz cried, running over to steal Ariel's phone, which caused her to cry out and finally sit up. "Aurora fractured her tibia!"</p><p>Ariel rubbed an eye, and then looked at us in confusion. "What?"</p><p>"Isn't that exciting!" I cried, but then realized my mistake, pointing in two opposite directions. "Well, not exciting, I hope she feels better soon — but this means you're Sandy in the musical!"<br/>It took a second for Ariel to absorb the information. "I — the understudy? Aurora can't so it?" she asked, her blue eyes gaining more light by the second.</p><p>Moana began. "Unless you can sing and dance on a fractured tibia-"</p><p>"Got it!" Rapunzel yelled, throwing up her arm. "The tibia is your shin! She fractured her shin!"</p><p>I giggled at her excitement, and then looked over to Ariel to see her over-the-moon reaction. She was going to be the lead in the musical!</p><p>But before she did jump up in excitement, she instead shrank back into her blankets. "I can't," she whispered, and she now looked the same as a redheaded, frightened mouse.</p><p>"What?" Moana cried as Punz and I looked at each other. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"You know the songs, the choreo. Why can't you?" I asked.</p><p>She glanced up at me. "Eric."</p><p>All three of us collectively sighed. We were getting tired of her drama over Eric. She'd been effectively pouting about the talent show problem for almost three weeks. Moana had told us that he also was a part of the bathroom kidnapping scheme, and we unanimously agreed to definitely not tell her about that.</p><p>"Oh, come on, Ariel," Rapunzel said. I could tell she was fighting to sound nurturing and understanding. "Maybe you should just let it go. This is your time to shine!"</p><p>"Or you could just talk to him," I added with a shrug.</p><p>"Thank you," Moana huffed, and I laughed.</p><p>Ariel shook her head. "I don't want to kiss him on stage! I haven't even had my real first kiss yet. I don't want it to be with my traitor crush."</p><p>"What about that jock in middle school?" Rapunzel inquired, causing Ariel to roll her eyes.</p><p>"Doesn't count. I just don't want to."</p><p>I sighed. "You could practice with Moana," I slyly said, raising an eyebrow at the brunette who harshly elbowed me in the rib. Ariel didn't notice and only laughed off my comment. I persisted. "Oh, come on, Ari!" I cried, folding my hands. "You get to be Sandy in Grease! Ugh, it'd be amazing! You're such a good Sandy, please do it!"</p><p>She looked at me for a while, then between the other two. Finally, she opened her mouth and we all held our breaths. "Fine."</p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>Right after I muttered that word, my roommates cheered. My phone buzzed from Rapunzel's hand, and she handed it to me. It was from our theatre remind text, from Mr. Scar.</p><p>Only for Miss Atlantica and Mr. Caspian, please come to the theater ASAP. Reply to this message when you receive it.</p><p>I quickly typed back, on my way. "Eric?" Anna asked with a grin.</p><p>I shook my head and hurried out of my bed. I slipped on some converse and then grabbed my bag. Passing the mirror, I stopped in my tracks. "Ah!" I cried, sprinting into the bathroom. I hurriedly smashed some concealer and powder into my face. The bags under my eyes were atrocious. I hadn't slept well recently.</p><p>"You look pretty!" Moana called, and then I heard her hiss "ow" and someone else shush her. We all knew I looked like a mess. I was kind of glad they wouldn't sugarcoat it. I did know I needed to pull myself together, just everything was happening at once.</p><p>"See you guys later!" I yelled, rushing out the door. I was bid farewell with shouts of good luck, and I actually began to smile. I began to play the Grease soundtrack as I walked quickly into the campus.</p><p>Arriving at the theater, I saw Mrs. Rose and Mr. Scar conversing together under a lamp at the front of the stage, whispering and murmuring. "Hi," I said dumbly, walking up to the stairs of the stage.</p><p>They looked up. "Oh, Ariel, splendid!" Mr. Scar exclaimed, giving me a strained smile. "Apologies for the late notice." He carefully eyed my converse and sweatpants. "Will you be able to dance in those?"</p><p>I looked down and then put on a smile for him. "I'll make it work."</p><p>The doors to the theater opened again, and Eric came walking in. My stomach jumped. Oh, no you don't, I thought to myself. He's a douchebag. "Hey," Eric said as well, giving me an apologetic smile.</p><p>Mrs. Rose smiled warmly at us. Eric sat down on the stage on the opposite side of me. I silently thanked him. Mr. Scar sighed and took off his reading glasses, looking up at us. "Now, I suppose you two know why you're here."</p><p>Eric and I glanced at each other for a quick second, thinking of Aurora, and then grimly nodded. "Officially, Miss Briar Rose is in the hospital right now, getting her leg checked and tested on. It's been determined as a tibia fracture, which takes about six to eight weeks to heal. And, we simply don't have that time. Our opening night is in exactly fifteen days. So Ariel, as Aurora's understudy, it is your responsibility to take over as Sandy for the remainder of the musical and its preparation. Do you accept?"</p><p>I bit my lip. My hands were shaking with nerves, but I cleared my throat and answered definitely, "Yes. Yes, I'll do it."</p><p>Mrs. Rose smiled at me, and Scar did too. "Wonderful. Ms. T should be arriving shortly, and we are going to have intensive rehearsals between the two of you until tech week." Eric and I nodded, and I made sure to continue to keep my gaze from him. I could tell he was trying to catch my eye, but I felt nervous enough to deal with an undeserved apology from him.</p><p>We began with the opening scene, which, naturally, is one of the more intimate ones. "Places! Ariel, you know your lines? You can use a script if you want," Scar suggested, but I shook my head. Learning my lines had been practically my whole life since we got that script. Now, if I could just say them without messing up, that'd be great.</p><p>Eric and I moved to the center of the stage. I held my arm anxiously, staring at my feet. We stood in our directed spots, approximately three inches away from each other. Eric smelled like pine, and strangely, the ocean. It made him all the more appealing. Except then Mrs. Rose bustled up to us, wrapping us closely in the prop beach towel. Her motherly smile and humming kind of killed my mood, but I was grateful. Anything to get my mind off of Eric and how dreamy he smelled.</p><p>"Hi," he said to me in a soft voice, and I looked up at him, furrowing my brows. "Ariel, I am...I am so sorry. I don't know how else I can express -"</p><p>"Just don't, Eric," I cut him off fiercely, looking at the spot between his eyebrows as to not get sucked into those deep blue eyes. "I don't want to hear it. I'm doing this for Aurora, because it's my responsibility. Believe me, I'd rather do it with anyone else too. So don't make it difficult."</p><p>Eric looked kind of shocked, but before he could reply, Scar yelled, "Ready? Action!"</p><p>Eric immediately placed his hands around my waist and we hugged, when on stage we'd actually have to kiss. This was the most awkward thing in the world. We released and I felt completely in character, looking up into his eyes with sadness. "I'm going back to Utah, I might never see you again!" I said.</p><p>Eric took my arms and looked down at me. "Don't talk that way, Sandy -"</p><p>"But it's true," I told him. "I've just had the best summer of my life and now I have to go away. It isn't fair." I looked down, and Eric placed a gentle finger under my chin. My eyes met his. My breath caught. This is where we were supposed to kiss again. But we simply stared into each other's eyes, completely still. Even the air seemed to freeze. We might as well have stood there for an eternity, until Mr. Scar yelled, "Next line, please!"</p><p>I shook myself, breath finally circulating through my lungs again. I cleared my throat and said, "Danny, don't spoil it!"</p><p>"It's not spoiling it, Sandy, it's only making it better," Eric said sincerely. I moved to place my timid hands on his shoulders.</p><p>"Danny...is this the end?"</p><p>He laughed. "Of course not. It's only the beginning."</p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Arendelle," I said again, hugging the two once more.</p><p>"We'll see you in December, Jack?" Mr. Arendelle asked kindly.</p><p>I smiled, my soul warming with knowing that they wanted me back. At least one person in this world did. I nodded at them and then Kristoff, Anna, Elsa, and I turned, boarding the train. I helped the sisters store their small luggages and then grabbed Elsa's hand, leading her to some empty seats. I knew public transport was one of the many things that made her nervous; even if we were in a rough spot, I didn't want her to panic. Plus, I planned to talk to her heart to heart today. We had an hour long train ride to do so.</p><p>We sat down silently, an empty table and two empty seats across from us. I prayed that Anna and Kristoff would choose some of the other seats. They wandered towards us, but I made pleading eye contact with Anna. She understood. "Let's sit over here, Kris," she said, pulling him to the seats a few rows away. "We get a better view. Oh! Wait till we pass the mini golf course!"</p><p>I smiled at her, and Elsa and I continued sitting in silence. Our hands were still locked, unmoving, and we didn't say a word. I didn't know how to start. We eventually left the train station, still silent. I had to say something at some point. I took a breath. "I wanted to talk -"</p><p>At the same moment, Elsa blurted something along the lines of "Jack, I need to say something." We both paused, looking at each other before laughing uncomfortably.</p><p>"You go first," I told her.</p><p>Elsa shook her head. "No, you -"</p><p>I squeezed her hand. "Elsa, you go first."</p><p>She glanced up at me and our eyes met. She was blushing, and as she took a breath, her hand tugged itself out of my grasp. "Jack, I...I don't know what's happening."</p><p>"Me neither," I told her truthfully, placing a hand on her knee.</p><p>She still looked nervous. "I think it started with the talent show. You - and Anna, I guess - but you sort of forced me into it, and you know I didn't want to."</p><p>"I know," I replied. "But I thought it would be good for you."</p><p>Elsa continued looking down, and I wanted her to look up at me. "I know. I thought it would be too, but it was awful. I mean, I hit Hans. I could've killed him."</p><p>I scoffed. "It's a shame you didn't."</p><p>Elsa gasped and finally looked up at me, but it wasn't what I had in mind. She looked angry, her mouth open, her eyes wide and brows furrowed. Her freckles didn't seem as cute anymore, and I almost flinched. "Jack, you can't say that."</p><p>"What, I mean, we would be better off without him," I stammered, and I had taken my hand off her knee.</p><p>Elsa moved away from me. "No. No, we wouldn't. You don't know how guilty I felt, hitting him in the head. He's nice. At least he talked to me after it happened. I ran, and you...you didn't even come after me."</p><p>I ran a hand over my face. I was getting a headache, and now it was my turn to avoid her eyes. "I figured you wanted to be alone," I lied. I knew that wasn't what was going through my head at the time.</p><p>Elsa placed her elbows on the table, covering her face with her gloved hands. "Well, I didn't. Jasmine was the only person who came after me, not my freaking boyfriend."</p><p>I sighed, stretching my neck and exhaling as I contemplated what to say next. "I know. I know, Elsa, I'm sorry. I went back to my dorm, I thought you'd be okay. I guess I was just overwhelmed with the whole grades and expelling thing -"</p><p>"Oh, yeah, and that's another thing!" she exclaimed, with a humorless laugh. Well, here we go. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned it. "Then Jasmine, who apparently is the only person I can count on, says that practically the entire school knows about your situation except for me! You were what, hiding it from me? I don't understand, Jack. I could help you, if you had told me sooner, you probably wouldn't be in danger."</p><p>"Because I'm stupid, Elsa, okay?" I burst out, tearing my hands from my hair and almost slamming them on the table, making her jump. "I'm just hopeless, you're probably better off without me anyway."</p><p>"Jack, don't say that -" she began.</p><p>"You want to know what my shitty grades are? I have a C in English and History, a D in Chem and Math, and a freaking B in woodshop. The only A I have is in PE. I do all my work, I do most of the homework, I try to pay attention in class, but I'm just so fucking stupid. I can't do anything right, including being a good boyfriend," I let out, holding my head between my elbows. I would not cry.</p><p>There was silence. I sat there, in the dark, the only noise was the train clattering down the tracks. Say something, Elsa.</p><p>"You're not a bad boyfriend, Jack," she murmured, taking my hand again. I kept my head down, my eyes closed. She continued. "In fact, you're the best boyfriend I've ever had." She chuckled, knowing that I was the only boyfriend she'd had.</p><p>She sighed, turning serious again. "And you're not stupid, Jack."</p><p>I shook my head. I was. It was like the information from school went in through one ear, maybe swirled around a bit, meaningless, and passed through the other. I would sit up all night trying to finish my reading annotations, but the letters would scramble and start to scream gibberish at me, burning my eyes and hurting my brain. Nothing would stick.</p><p>"You're not," Elsa insisted, taking my wrist. "Jack, listen to me. You are not stupid. And I love you. You are sweet, and kind, and I don't know if I'd...I don't know if I'd be alive without you. You are the best person...you...I love you."</p><p>I finally looked up, not bothering to wipe my eyes. Staring into her face, which looked sad, heartbroken, I finally said softly, "I'm sorry."</p><p>Elsa gave me a sad smile and kissed my forehead, then wrapped her arms around my neck and brought my head close. I had never been cuddled like this, and I never felt more loved. I remained in her arms the entire ride back home. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>LOTTIE</p><p>I bustled into the cafeteria line, peering over some heads to see what was on the menu today. "Ooh, chinese chicken salad! My favorite!" I exclaimed to the person beside me, who happened to be Vidia. She simply gave an impolite smile and moved closer to Fawn.</p><p>I just smiled, waiting patiently in line and surveying the people around me. However, I soon got a waft of swoon-worthy cologne and my eyes snapped toward the source. They landed on a tall, familiar buff guy wearing a tight blue shirt. I knew his muscles from anywhere, and suddenly, I was on a mission.</p><p>"Excuse me, I am so sorry," I said as I pushed through the students. "Comin' through! Don't worry, I know that guy."</p><p>I finally reached him, grinning and methodically pushing up my boobs up. I wish I had added a beauty mark this morning, but this was my moment. I mean, I had officially moved on from Tarzan. He was with Jane still, and I wasn't going to mess them up even more than I had. This was my next choice. I tapped on his bicep and he turned to look at me with those blue eyes, making me blush. "Hi, Adam."</p><p>"Oh, hey..." he greeted, and I could tell he was searching for my name.</p><p>"Charlotte. Or Lottie, most people call me Lottie," I told him happily, grinning.</p><p>"Right. Charlotte," he said, sucking his teeth. No trace of a smile passed his gruff, sharp jawline. His profile was practically perfect — his bony nose, beautiful eyebrows, lips, and that jawline, oh lord!</p><p>Adam turned back to the line. "You heard anything from Vanessa yet? She's been pretty quiet lately," I asked, knowing that at least something we had in common was being Vanessa's minions.</p><p>Adam continued to stare ahead. "Nope. She only talks to me if she needs someone taken care of or if she's horny, which is a lot. I guess Eric just can't please her like a real man."</p><p>I gaped. Vanessa's cheating on Eric? I mean, I guess it's expected, but gosh. I cleared my throat. "Yeah, she doesn't tell me much. Except my new assignment is to find out any and all gossip of every livin' creature on this campus, so that's just swell. Got any info?" I asked jokingly, nudging his arm with my shoulder. Lord, he's tall.</p><p>"John Smith is cheating on Pocahontas with Nakoma. Nakoma is cheating on Kocoum with John Smith. Aladdin and Jasmine are officially dating. Kuzco and Edward are officially the f*ggiest of them all, and they'll probably end up just screwing each other. Meg is trying to bang Hercules, and Mulan is a tr*anny," he stated deadpan.</p><p>My mouth dropped open again. "Good gravy, she should give you this assignment instead of me! Do you mind writing that down?" I was half joking, half not. I was fully prepared to whip out my pink pen and paper, but Adam just grunted and moved forward in the line, picking up a tray.</p><p>"So...Beast!" I said, using his last name and nickname. "Do you like that nickname?" To be honest, it was actually pretty hot.</p><p>Adam sighed and turned his head toward me again. He shrugged. "It's fine. I mean, it's my last name, so..."</p><p>I smiled and watched him accept his plate. "Say, aren't you French? Parlez-vous français? I mean, I'm from good ol' Louisiana, New Orleans so I do speak some, if I do say myself."</p><p>He answered as he walked over to get utensils and napkins. "Yeah, I am...My last name used to be Beast-Lachapelle, but my mom, uh...didn't want me anymore."</p><p>"Oh, I am so sorry, honey," I responded sincerely. I was surprised that he was being so open so quickly. He struck me more of a hot, broody, bad guy type.</p><p>Adam then ripped at the napkins, startling as he tore them out of the container and shredded them, chucking them in the trash and then starting to walk away. "Well, that's none of your business anyway. Don't...just go away. I don't want to talk to you."</p><p>"Thanks for the info!" I called after him. After he walked away, I exhaled, leaning against the counter and fanning myself.</p><p>"Lottie?" someone asked, sounding quite congested. I turned. Tiana was walking towards the utensils station, clutching her lunch bag and honestly looking like she got smacked in the face with a shovel and then buried alive.</p><p>"Tia! You look...awful," I said with a grimace, looking her up and down.</p><p>She smiled weakly. "Just tired," she responded, taking a fork.</p><p>"Honey, have you taken your temperature lately?" I asked, moving forward to place my hand on her forehead. It was warm. "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off."</p><p>Tiana pushed my hand off, her eyes going wide. "Lottie, are you crazy? I've got work after school and a student council meeting to confirm the dance reservations and have a conference with the Paris program...I have a lot to do."</p><p>I looked at her with growing concern. "Suga, maybe you should take a break, though. You've got a lot on your plate, I don't want it takin' a toll on your health. Let me call you in sick for work this evenin'-"</p><p>Tiana shook her head. "Thanks, Lottie, but I can handle it. Anyway -" She sneezed " -was that Adam you were talkin' to just now?"</p><p>I blushed, putting some salt and pepper on my tray. "Maybe, yeah. Don't you think he is a nice lookin' hunk? I mean, whoo! Those biceps could practically throw me across the country!"</p><p>Tiana laughed a bit, but then said to me, "Lottie, I wouldn't advise gettin' involved with Beast." Her eyes looked around, and they were bloodshot. "I don't know exactly what happened, but he did some...supposedly pretty awful things to Meg when they were datin'. That man has anger problems, girl. Promise me you'll keep your distance?"</p><p>I bit my lip, staring at the ground. No, I thought. "Sure thing, Tia. Now you go on and get some rest, I've gotta report to Miss Sea. I'll see you in student council?"</p><p>Tiana coughed, and I leaned back, waiting for her to finish. "Sure. Be safe, Charlotte."</p><p>I blew a kiss to her and picked up my food tray, making my way to Vanessa's table in the center of the room. I went over all the information Adam had told me. He might be more useful than I thought. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hey hey hey!!! how are you doing? i'm back with another unedited chapter, but i'm just trying to get them out asap. luckily, the winter formal will be in the chapter after the next one (hopefully!)! so that's exciting!</p><p>tink's plan seems to be working! will she split up pendy for good? so, aurora fractured her shin, ouch. cindy is feeling some guilt, and she is also under a lot of pressure by being the maid of her stepsisters still. will she ever make it out of that deal? now, ariel is sandy in the musical, but things between her and eric are beyond tense. will they be able to act through it, or will they have to resolve their problems first? jack and elsa finally talked to each other, but it did result in a lot of anger. is their relationship still healthy, and will they be able to keep it together? finally, will lottie and adam become closer, or not?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: (stealing this from Kimberly1612 , i hope that's okay!! it's a v good question) What is your favorite Disney lyric?</p><p>My Answer: "And if I never knew you<br/>I would never have a clue<br/>How at last I'd find in you<br/>The missing part of me" If I Never Knew You, from Pocahontas. and basically every single pocahontas lyric EVER.</p>
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<a name="section0038"><h2>38. Chapter 38</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>VANESSA</p><p>Sitting in homeroom, I had Marie filing my nails and Paulette Bimbette reading the school newspaper to me. "In the closing of Walt Disney High's football season, we have won -"</p><p>"Next," I ordered.</p><p>"Normally, talent shows include awkward dance routines, a screechy singer who forgets their lyrics, and -"</p><p>"Next."</p><p>The PA system crackled, and the classroom grew a little bit quieter to listen to the announcements. "Good morning, students!" Fairy Godmother said cheerfully. "Happy Friday! As you know, the Winter Formal is upon us! Next Saturday evening, you will arrive at the gymnasium at 7 PM, and it will end at 11 PM. There will be a DJ, food, a photobooth, drinks, goodies, and of course, your Ice King and Queen elections!"</p><p>The classroom immediately began to buzz, and I smirked. I leaned over to Drizella and told her, "Start planning my campaign. And send an email to the whole student body to make them nominate me." She nodded vigorously and pulled out her laptop.</p><p>"Your homeroom teachers will be handing out nomination forms for all of you to fill out, and you will cast your votes upon arrival to the dance. You are allowed to campaign once you have been nominated, but we would like to point out that you may not pass out any unauthorized food."</p><p>"On another note," Fairy Godmother continued, "we will be having a Paris orientation on December 11. In the morning, you will go to the auditorium instead of your homeroom. We will give another reminder soon. But the sophomore class is officially going on an educational trip to Paris, France, from December 28 to January 4! The information and trip slips will be passed out at the orientation."</p><p>The classroom burst into chatter. Paris. "This will be perfect," I said out loud, my mind already buzzing with ideas. "Have you sent the email yet?" I asked Drizella.</p><p>She nodded. "Slightly threatening, but not questionable." I nodded in approval.</p><p>"Finally, tickets for the fall musical Grease will be going on sale today! Opening night is Friday December 14 at 7, and the drama class will have performances every weekend. Tickets are $12 to $20. Thank you students!"</p><p>Mr. Caterpillar drowsily passed around the nomination slips, which I had Claudette fill out eagerly. I had won Ice Queen before, so it would be easy to win again. Here I come, Disney High.</p><p>•••</p><p>At lunchtime, I had a very important meeting to attend to. I had to practically peel myself away from my admirers, who were all trying to assist with my campaign. I hardly needed any help. I stalked down the empty halls, my heels clacking on the tile loudly.</p><p>I arrived at my mother's office, knocking before stepping in. "Good afternoon, Mother," I said coldly, hanging my purse on the back of a chair and sitting down.</p><p>She was staring at her phone, and only glanced up at me momentarily. I sighed. "Do you know what this meeting is about?" I asked her, gazing down at my nails.</p><p>Ursula rolled her eyes and sighed, placing her phone down and looking at me with annoyance. "Do enlighten me, Vanessa."</p><p>"Eric's mom died."</p><p>Ursula's expression remained unchanged. She continued to stare at me, leaning back into her chair. "Really."</p><p>I nodded. I still felt scared in her presence. One wrong word, one wrong move could cause her to break out, or criticise me, or make me do something new. "What will we do?" I asked her in a small voice, and she started to open her red, overlined lips.</p><p>There was a knock on her office door, and Ursula sucked her teeth before saying, "Come in."</p><p>The door opened, and Eric stepped in, looking frantic. "I'm sorry, I apologize for being late," he said hastily, looking terrified as his blue eyes darted between me and my mother. I smirked and held my hand out to him, which he begrudgingly took and I continued to hold it as he sat down. I knew he wouldn't let me do this if my mother wasn't sitting right there. That was one of the only benefits about her.</p><p>"So, Eric," she said, looking him up and down hungrily. "Mrs. Caspian is dead."</p><p>Eric inhaled, and he could barely get an answer out. I watched him intently as he said stiffly, "Yes, she, um, passed away over break. She was having a surgery and...bled out."</p><p>Ursula didn't offer any condolences, but I seriously considered squeezing his hand. "Will you be having a funeral?" she asked him, looking through some papers.</p><p>Eric was caught off guard, blinking. "Um, I - I'm not sure. I don't know how I would pay for it, all I have is my guardian Grimsby..."</p><p>"Well money is what we're here to discuss today," Ursula told him, evening out a stack of papers and then folding her meaty hands. "As you know, the deal we had was that you would date my daughter as long as we provided coverage for your mother's care and treatment."</p><p>Eric nodded, not looking at me. "Now your mother is dead. But I assume there will still be expenses carrying over such as the room cost and the care from nurses and such. If you want to have a funeral for her, we could cover that too. But that means longer time with Vanessa. It seems pretty obvious that in order to save you and your guardian from debt, all you have to do is take my daughter out. That is the only price. It's a token, really, a trifle! We are giving you much more than what you are giving us."</p><p>"Publicly," I chimed in, giving him a pointed look. "Date me publicly."</p><p>He glanced at me, and then back at Vanessa. "Do you know...do you know for a fact how much the hospital charges you even after the patient is dead? Because we do have some insurance."</p><p>My mother scoffed. "Oh, please, Caspian, Fantasia Insurance covers practically nothing."</p><p>Eric sighed, looking down. After a moment, he asked sadly, "How much would a funeral cost?"</p><p>"About $8,000."</p><p>"What?" Eric gasped. He took his hand out of mine and rubbed his palms over his face. He looked pathetic.</p><p>"And I just looked it up," my mom said, putting on her glasses to read off her computer. "After a patient's death, the hospital charges you an approximate total of $20,000. I would predict that Fantasia would pay about half."</p><p>Eric sat there in shock for a little bit, before putting his hands over his mouth and leaning back, staring into space.</p><p>My mother smirked. "So I take it you and Vanessa will be having a little more time together?" she said with malice, laughing in her low voice. She winked at me, but it didn't feel right. Eric hastily wiped at one of his eyes. He was crying.</p><p>"Yes." He grabbed my hand again, and he almost flinched at my touch. "I won't...there won't be a funeral. Thank you, Ms. Sea. I really appreciate all you guys have done for me."</p><p>Ursula didn't smile. "But you must promise to keep dating Vanessa. Publicly."</p><p>"Including PDA," I added, butterflies in my stomach.</p><p>"You take her to the dance -" my mom continued.</p><p>"Oh!" I cut in excitedly. "And we win Ice King and Queen! Wouldn't that be perfect, Mother?"</p><p>My mom's eyes widened greedily. "Yes...yes, you will win the crown. Do you accept, Eric?"</p><p>Eric hesitated for a bit, but then nodded. "Yeah. Yes, I accept."</p><p>AURORA</p><p>"So, usually for a fractured tibia of this severity, it will take about 7 weeks in a cast," the doctor told me. I gasped. 7 weeks? That goes all the way through winter break. Would I even be able to go to Paris? "And possibly a total of 3 to 6 months to heal completely."</p><p>I put my head in my hands. 6 months. I would spend the rest of my sophomore year with a fractured bone. Philip placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay. It's gonna be okay," he said in a soft voice.</p><p>I sniffed and nodded. "Yeah," I replied.</p><p>"So you can follow my nurse Jenna here, and she will wrap your lower leg and ankle in a cast. Sound good?" the doctor said with a smile. I faked one back and Jenna began to walk out. Philip pushed my wheelchair to follow her. We arrived in a room and Jenna asked me what color I wanted my cast to be. I began to say pink, but I saw the obnoxious bright color and told her white.</p><p>"So, you can't put any weight on your leg for about 5 weeks. We'll give you some crutches -"</p><p>"Oh, no," I groaned. "So I assume that means that I can't be in cheerleading nationals?" The cheerleading competition was in January, one of the biggest events of the year.</p><p>Jenna shook her head. "No sports for three months."</p><p>I sighed again. Philip stepped in. "Our class is going on a trip to Paris in a few weeks. She can at least go to that, right?"</p><p>Jenna thought about it. "As long as you keep the crutches and follow the rules, but I don't see how it would be a problem."</p><p>I smiled. At least that was okay. Jenna wrapped my lower leg and ankle in a stiff cast, and I already hated it. It was already itching and weighed at least 50 pounds. I sighed. How could this get any better?</p><p>•••</p><p>Philip helped me crutch my myself into the dorm building. He insisted that I sleep in his dorm, so I didn't have to be flustered with people asking me questions and such. The next morning, he walked me to my dorm door. He opened it for me and I heard a gasp. "Rory!" Cinderella shouted, standing up. She ran at me and hugged me, knocking over my crutches and throwing me off balance.</p><p>"Woah! Woah, hi!" I giggled, hugging her back.</p><p>"I'm glad you're okay, Aurora," Snow said sweetly, hugging me lighter afterwards.</p><p>"Me too, I -"</p><p>"Oh, dear!" Snow said, pointing at my cast. "That's awful!"</p><p>I smiled. "Want to sign it?"</p><p>Cindy, Snow, and Philip grabbed some pens and I propped my leg up so they could sign it. "Hey Rose," Cindy said after she capped her sharpie. "Want to get our Winter Formal dresses today?"</p><p>I furrowed my brows. "In this?" I asked, motioning to the cast. "I mean, I can't dance."</p><p>"So what?"</p><p>"Hey," Philip cut in, grinning. "I haven't even asked you yet."</p><p>I smiled and turned to him. "What, you're planning on not taking me?"</p><p>He grinned and kissed me on the forehead. "Of course I'll take you, princess."</p><p>"Come on, Aurora, let's buy dresses!" Snow pushed.</p><p>"Okay, okay," I laughed.</p><p>Soon, Philip was walking with me, Cindy, and Snow to the mall. Philip went to buy a tie, and us girls stopped in Sofia's Gowns. We split up and started going through the rows of dresses. It was difficult for me to get a hang of the uncomfortable crutches, and I dropped them a few times, causing people to jump.</p><p>I picked up a few dresses, throwing them over my shoulder to carry. "Hey, what are you doing? I've got those," Cindy said, coming up behind me and taking the dresses. "Come on, you ready to try these on?"</p><p>I nodded and she led me to a dressing room, taking the handicapped one. "And you're actually handicapped!" she said, smiling.</p><p>She put the hangers on the racks, thn turned to face me. "Hey, Rory, I, uh, I just wanted to say that I'm really, really sorry for dropping you," she said, stepping towards me. "I really didn't mean to -"</p><p>"Cindy," I said, stopping her. I put a finger to her lips. "It's fine. You didn't drop me."</p><p>"Yes, I did, and it's my fault." She looked down at her fingers, which I realized were nail bitten and raw.</p><p>"No it's not, okay? It's okay, C," I told her, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's okay."</p><p>Cindy gently wrapped her arms around me. She smelled warm, familiar. I sighed and kissed the top of her head. She pulled away and took a breath. "Let's try these on, huh?" she said, looking at the dresses.</p><p>She put on a pink dress with white bows, also tying up her blonde hair. "It's pretty," I told her, leaning my crutches on the wall.</p><p>"Yeah, it's expensive, though," she said.</p><p>"How much?"</p><p>She looked at the tag and flinched. "$800."</p><p>"Oh. Next one," I laughed.</p><p>"Are you going to try any on?" Cindy asked as she stepped out of the dress.</p><p>I looked down at the cast and said, "I'm not exactly sure how..."</p><p>Cindy laughed and said, "Oh, come on. I'll help you."</p><p>She offered me her hand and I looked up into her smiling face. I took it slowly and she helped me up. I pulled off my grey sweater, and Cindy then helped me take off my pink skirt. I blushed as she did so, but shook it off. We're friends. But it didn't help that she was in her bra and underwear.</p><p>She first helped me try on a grey dress, but hung too low. I moved on to the more expensive one, and it seemed stunning. Cindy assisted me in stepping into it and I held onto her shoulder. We were both blushing by now. She buttoned each one in the back, slowly moving my hair in front of my shoulder.</p><p>"Wow," she said breathlessly, and her words tingled my neck, making me shiver. I barely even looked at the dress, all I could do was follow her eyes, which were traveling up and down me. "Aurora, you look beautiful."</p><p>I turned, and our eyes met. Her eyelashes were thick and beautiful, and in these close quarters our eyelashes almost brushed. Her eyes were a deep blue, and they were the most breathtaking things I had ever seen. Before I knew it, I was closing my eyes and leaning in. Our lips brushed. I slowly pulled away, my eyes remaining closed.</p><p>I stood there for a moment, dazed and balancing on one foot. Finally, I slowly opened my eyelids to see Ella doing the same. I started to smile. Cinderella then put her hands behind my head and brought me back into the kiss, this time fervid and passionate. I wrapped my arms around her waist, smiling into her lips as she ran her hands through my hair, and I pulled her closer to me. I felt like I was walking on clouds, lightheaded. She moved her soft hands to my cheeks and we finally slowed down, pulling away and breathing hard.</p><p>We remained silent, smiling and staring at each other. I could still taste her taste of vanilla on my tongue. I finally seemed to gain consciousness, turning to the mirror. I looked starstruck, and Cindy couldn't take her eyes off my face, but I tried to focus on the dress.</p><p>The skirt was long, simple, purple with a slit up one leg, thankfully my uninjured one. The elastic above the skirt then separated the top, which was made of nude mesh. Solid purple roses and black swirly branches covered it, also with sparkles. It was long sleeved, and I felt like a princess. I grinned. "I like it," I said, my voice quiet.</p><p>"I like it too," Cindy told me softly. She clasped her hands in front of her and bit her lip, her blue eyes clouding over with worry. I turned to face her. "What does this mean?" she asked with concern, looking into my face.</p><p>I took her cheek in my palm and drew her forward for a sweet, slow kiss. I then leaned my forehead against hers. "I don't know. But let's not think about it for now, okay?" I told her quietly. Cinderella smiled and nodded.</p><p>There was a harsh knock on the door. "Is everything all right in there? Do you guys need more sizes or something?" Tiger Lily's firm voice asked.</p><p>We stifled giggles and both responded, "No, we're okay!/We're good!" Tiger's footsteps retreated.</p><p>I wiggled out of my purple dress and carefully hung it back on the hanger as Cindy helped me back into my skirt. I felt tense, but it was exhilarating this time as she brought it up my legs, zipping it on the side.</p><p>She then turned to her remaining dresses. She picked out a light blue one and tried it on. The sleeveless bodice perfectly hugged her upper body, with a bow on one side. The rest of the dress hung gracefully. "I could wear some gloves with it, and you know that diamond necklace?" she said, tracing her forearms. I nodded.</p><p>"It's perfect."</p><p> </p><p>PETER</p><p>Wendy hadn't answered my phone calls for three days. When I tried to visit her room with flowers, Tink informed me that she also wasn't talking to Alice and that she had been sleeping in Lady's dorm. I tried texting her, and she wouldn't answer. In class, she ignored me as best she could. I didn't know how to reach her. I wanted to apologize. I know that Alice and I kissing was wrong, but we really did mess up by not confessing.</p><p>It did make us look guilty. I mean, maybe Alice and I had felt something? I've known her practically my whole life. She's funny, trustworthy, pretty, and gives really good advice. What if she did like me? That's why she didn't want to tell Wendy?</p><p>Amidst all this confusion and scrambling, I knew that at least I had Tink. She would be there for me no matter what, I was sure of it. That's why I was taking another trip to their dorm today.</p><p>I knocked on the door to have Alice answer it. "Oh," she said when she saw me, opening the door a little wider. She was wearing her classic black jeans and a grey sweater, her blonde hair in a messy bun. "Hey. Wendy's still not here."</p><p>I cleared my throat, rocking back and forth on my feet. "Um, that's okay. Actually, can I come in?"</p><p>Alice stared at me for a moment and then opened the door for me to step inside. "Um, Tinkerbell isn't here either," she said, shutting the door behind me.</p><p>I turned around, smiling. "That's...that's okay. Um, maybe we could talk?"</p><p>Alice clicked her tongue and waved her hands, walking over to sit in a chair. "Sure? Knock yourself out."</p><p>I smiled at her. I missed talking to her. She was...is my best friend. But a lot of the time I guess I prioritized Wendy over her and Tink. It had been like this since last year, when I first meant Wendy. She was so beautiful, and I couldn't stay away from her. I began. "So...Wendy found out about the...friend date."</p><p>Alice sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it, Peter. I mean... I guess I did. I don't know, I was -"</p><p>I stopped, looking at her. "What?"</p><p>Alice looked guilty, letting down her punk facade. She looked down at her hands, pieces of hair falling in her face. "Um...Yeah, I've had a crush on you since second grade. Surprise! You're a bit of an oblivious arse, you know that?" she said with an awkward chuckle.</p><p>I was shocked. Alice, like me? I thought we were just friends. I maybe had maybe even assumed she was gay. I haven't even noticed. I realized my mouth was hanging open, so I said, "Oh. Yeah, I...I guess I am. Sorry."</p><p>Alice laughed, rolling her eyes and standing up to awkwardly pace around. "It's not your fault, I should have made a move. And maybe not introduce you to Wendy Darling."</p><p>I looked down sadly. "Yeah, well that shouldn't be a problem anymore."</p><p>Alice paused, and then slowly sat down next to me on the bed. "Hey...I don't think this is the end. She's really sad about it too. If one of us could just explain -"</p><p>"I can't get a hold of her, at all," I told her, putting my face in my hands.</p><p>Alice began to rub my back. "Maybe at the dance you could talk to her. I could help you corner her if you want. I know she is a sucker for the photobooths."</p><p>I laughed. I could remember our last Winter Formal and how she wanted to spend the whole night taking pictures. "Yeah, I could try. I just wish I could go with her. As a couple. Match her dress, bring her flowers. You know?"</p><p>Alice nodded. "Yeah. I know."</p><p>"I was going to ask Tinkerbell, as a friend," I told her, glancing at the time. Alice froze. "What?" I asked, confused.</p><p>She took a breath, avoiding my eyes. "Yeah, about that...I don't know if I should be the one to say, but Tink has - or at least had - a crush on you too."</p><p>I gasped. "What? You've got to be kidding me."</p><p>Alice laughed. "You're just that irresistable, Pan."</p><p>I shrugged. "I guess I am. So would that be weird?"</p><p>Alice shrugged, standing up again. I could tell she was done with all the mushy stuff, and was back to her normal self. "I don't know. But don't tell her I told you. Just say it's completely platonic." I nodded. She grinned. "Still no chance you'd want to take me?"</p><p>I smiled back, but it fell. "No. I'm sorry Alice, that would be too awful to Wendy. I do really want her back. She's the love of my life. I can't let her go."</p><p>Alice nodded in understanding, trying to hide her disappointment. "Yeah. Makes sense."'</p><p>"But...you will help me talk to her?"</p><p>"Sure thing. Shouldn't be that hard."</p><p>I stood up, brushing off my pants. "Thanks Alice. I'm sorry for all this mess, it's been...messy."</p><p>She rolled her blue eyes and hugged me quickly. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, slightly out of pity. She tried to hide her smile and her blush, but it didn't really work. But then her expression turned annoyed. "Ah, shit, Pan. You just made me say that I was going to the Winter Formal."</p><p>I laughed. "What, you weren't going to go?"</p><p>"No, that thing is for wimps. But hey, that's what friends are for, right?" she said, punching my arm.</p><p>I smiled. "Yeah. That's what friends are for. Thanks, Kingsley." I stepped toward the doorframe.</p><p>"No problem, Pan. I guess I'll see you at the Winter Formal, but I'd rather shoot myself than wear a dress."</p><p>I laughed. "Okay, Alice, you don't have to wear a dress."</p><p>I waved as I walked away, and she jokingly flipped me off. Then I blushed. My two best friends had a crush on me. But I had to get Wendy back. </p><p> </p><p>MOANA</p><p>"So Anna is the only one in this room who has a date to the Winter Formal," Ariel said as she looked through her closet.</p><p>Anna chuckled from the bathroom. "Well I would hope so, Kristoff is my boyfriend."</p><p>"But what about us?" Rapunzel whined, sketching on her notebook.</p><p>I smirked. "You thinking about a certain Flynn Rider?" I asked her.</p><p>Rapunzel looked up and threw her pencil at me, but then she said hurriedly, "Wait, give it back! I need it to draw!" I laughed and threw it back.</p><p>"Well, I'm definitely going alone. Eric already asked Vanessa, so I'm really single," Ariel said, smiling a bit and throwing down a skirt.</p><p>My heart jumped. I could go with you! My head screamed, but I held my tongue. "Yeah, me too," I said nonchalantly, definitely not trying to hint at anything.</p><p>"Hey, it's okay," Rapunzel said cheerfully. "We can be the group of single girls."</p><p>I smiled. "We should get dresses!" Anna said, poking her head out the bathroom. "Let's go!"</p><p>"Right now?" I asked, setting down my phone.</p><p>"Yeah! You guys look like you have nothing better to do." Anna motioned to me scrolling on my phone, Rapunzel sketching aimlessly, and Ariel trying to figure out which shirt goes with which top.</p><p>"Rude! But true," Ariel exclaimed, grinning. She seemed way happier since she got the Grease role. The smile brightened up her face, and it made me blush every time I look at her.</p><p>"Yeah, let's go!" Punzie said excitedly, standing up.</p><p>We all scrambled to put on shoes and grab our bags. The four of us walked down and out of the dorm building, towards the Disney Mall. Once we stepped into the air conditioned mall, which was ridiculous considering it was 50 degrees outside, Anna begged to get Wetzel's Pretzels. We stopped at the vendor and picked up some food before heading over to Sofia's Gowns, the most popular dress store in the city.</p><p>"Ooh, look at this one!" Anna cried, running towards one of the racks. She pulled out a green and black dress and grinned. "Ooh, or his one!" She ran to another dress, causing us all to giggle. I gravitated towards the shorter dresses.</p><p>Rapunzel went to the other side of the store, and Ariel wandered around to follow Anna.</p><p>I spotted Pocahontas, Judy, Iridessa, and Snow a few racks away looking over some dresses too. I pulled out a maroon one and a deep sparkly blue one. Glancing at the price tags, I gasped, shutting my eyes. Jeez. Nevertheless, I took the dresses into the dressing rooms, slipping into an empty one.</p><p>I first tried on the blue one, but I could barely get it zipped up. "Moana?" Ariel asked, knocking on my door and making me jump.</p><p>"Yeah?" I asked, opening the door a crack. She pushed it open more and her eyes looked up at the sight of my dress. "Oh, that's so cute!" she exclaimed.</p><p>I blushed and turned around, saying, "Yeah, well the problem is..."</p><p>"Oh. Want me to get you a bigger size?" she asked generously.</p><p>My face turned even redder and I looked down. "Uh, sure. This is a, um, size 8."</p><p>"Okay!" she said, smiling. "Do you mind if I join you in here? Anna and Rapunzel took the last room."</p><p>My breath stopped, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the dress size too small or if my crush was asking to change with me. "Um, uh, sure, no problem."</p><p>"Thanks! I'll be right back," she said, shutting the door.</p><p>I took a breath. Okay. This was fine. This is what normal friends do. Totally heterosexual.</p><p>I struggled out of the blue dress, and while I was waiting, I slipped on the maroon one. It was a little too short, and it hugged my armpits a little too much. It was pretty, with beading over the top and tulle on the skirt, but it wasn't exactly the one. Also, it was $480.</p><p>"Moana, I'm back," Ariel said, knocking softly.</p><p>I shakily opened the door and let her in as she held up two of the blue dresses. She squeezed her way in, hanging up her handful of dresses. Turning, she looked at me. "That's pretty!" she said, pointing at the maroon dress.</p><p>I smiled and looked down at it. "Thanks, I just don't think it's right."</p><p>She nodded. "Well, I got you size 10 and 12, just in case. Go on, try them on," she said, showing me them.</p><p>"Thanks," I said, taking the hangers. I took a breath and reached for the zipper.</p><p>"Here, I got it," Ariel told me, and moved to unzip the dress. I shivered at her touch and she quickly unzipped it. I stepped out of it slowly, leaving me in only my underwear and bra. They weren't very cute, plus I was on my period. But she wasn't watching, she just took off her jeans and long sleeve to reveal her cute pale pink bra with a lace black thong...oh god, this was creepy, wasn't it? I hurriedly looked away and kept my eyes glued to the bland tan walls. I mean, we were roommates. I had seen her undress a number of times, but being alone, in close quarters together seemed different.</p><p>I quickly put on one of the blue dresses, not sure which size it was but only focused on getting on some clothes. It zipped very easily, and I turned to the mirror. It looked frumpy, large. This was probably the size 12.</p><p>Behind me, Ariel was looking at the first dress she'd tried on. It was a long, mint dress, flowy and smooth. I was breathless. "That one is beautiful," I said, staring at her.</p><p>Ariel puckered her lips, and turned to look at her back. "It makes me look fat."</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "No it does not, Miss Size Zero."</p><p>I pulled off the one I had on and slipped on the size 10, which hugged me much better. It was a long, floor-length dress, a deep blue color with sparkly sequins adorning the whole thing. The neckline was wide, and straps crossed in the back. There was a small slit on one leg. I thought it was really pretty. It glimmered as it moved, and I almost felt like the ocean.</p><p>"That one," Ariel said definitely. "It's perfect, You look beautiful."</p><p>I blushed. "Thank you. I think I'll get it."</p><p>I took it off and Ariel moved onto her next dress, which was a white mermaid cut. The sheer neckline dipped very low, and the fabric was very tight. It was really pretty. Her bright red hair really popped against the white. Ariel looked at herself in the mirror, turning to all angles. "Hmmm...I don't think this is it. I don't want to be a bride at a high school dance."</p><p>I smiled. "Understandable. But this one looks pretty," I said, moving to sit down and gesturing towards the next one, which was peach.</p><p>I helped Ariel get out of the dress, and then she put on the last one. I averted my eyes as best I could. The last was the most stunning of them all. It was light peach, short. It was sleeveless, with delicate flowers across the top. "You look...amazing," I told her, dazed.</p><p>Ariel giggled. "Thank you. I think I'm going to get it."</p><p>She changed back into her normal clothes, and we both grabbed our final choices and exited the small dressing room. At the same time, Anna and Rapunzel were walking out of their own dressing room, carrying their picks. "Ooh, what'd you get?" Ariel asked eagerly.</p><p>Rapunzel proudly held up a beautiful black gown, a sleeveless black bodice and then the skirt giving way to lavender, pink, and peach hues. Anna showed us a stunning dark purple gown that would flow to the floor. Ariel and I showed them our dresses, which they loved, and we went up to the counter to pay.</p><p>"Oh, hi Tiger," Ariel greeted Tiger Lily, who was at the counter.</p><p>"Hey, guys. For the Winter Formal?" she asked pleasantly as she began checking each of us out.</p><p>"Yeah. Are you going?" Punz asked her, pulling out her wallet.</p><p>Tiger shrugged. "Eh. I'll probably just go out that night, I'd rather do that than dance in a sweaty, loud room with these people," she said with a laugh.</p><p>We all paid for our dresses, and I apologized to my wallet as I swiped my card through. However, we exited with a bag in everyone's hand, and then Anna insisted that we had to get shoes and accessories. I grimaced, thinking of the money I had already spent, but tagged along and picked up some silver heels that were on sale.</p><p>All that was left now was to survive my first high school dance. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>KUZCO</p><p>I sighed, unlocking my dorm room. I had had a very long day, and I was just ready to crash. But Edward Lockhart stood in the center of the room, gazing proudly at me with his hands on his hips. I rolled my eyes, and began to say, "What do you wa...woah."</p><p>My eyes traveled along the walls of the dorm. Everything was covered in rainbows, pride flags, feathers, sparkles, pictures of hot guys with abs, and even my white board was titled "The Gay Agenda" with a to-do list below it. I picked up a mini gay flag, twirling it between my fingers. I smirked, laughing a bit. "Really?" I asked, exasperated.</p><p>Edward began strutting around. "Intimidated?" he asked with a quirk in his brow. "I am the gayest of them all, Kuzco. To be honest, I did have to step it up after the Dolly Llama."</p><p>I chuckled and set my bag down on my bed, which had been covered in a towel that said 'Move, I'm Gay.' "Oh, please," I said, sitting down and crossing my legs. "Wow, you are so brave. You decorated the dorm that you share with another gay and an ally with rainbow stuff. What a rebel. I wonder how they'll react."</p><p>Edward stared at me and sucked his teeth. "All right. I mean, it's not like this took me a few hours, but sure. You want a show, I will give you a show."</p><p>"Great. Now let me go to sleep," I said. I put a pillow over my face, not caring about my eyeliner, and went to sleep the moment I heard Edward leave the room.</p><p>•••</p><p>The next day, I was chatting with Vidia at lunch. "All right, hun, you tell me how that goes, okay? Good luck!" I said as I walked away to the lunch line. She was planning on asking Silvermist to the dance.</p><p>"Will do!" she said, saluting and walking away. I entered the lunch line, simply heading to the salad bar and making a slightly disgusting looking salad. Oh well. I had to keep Dolly Llama slim, there was no way I was buying another outfit to fit.</p><p>I turned and walked toward Megara, who was also eating with Vanellope, Boo, Lilo, Violet, Kida, Penny, and Tink. "Hey, girls," I said, sitting on the bench as gracefully as possible. The heels I were wearing made me wobbly, but I was trying to strengthen my ankles for them.</p><p>"Hey, Kuzco," Meg said, smirking at me.</p><p>"Anything new?" I asked, digging into my soggy, healthy food.</p><p>Meg sighed. "My dad wants me to manipulate Hercules's feelings to benefit his online business."</p><p>I stared at her. "Damn."</p><p>"Peter asked me to the dance," Tink said sadly, playing with her macaroni.</p><p>I gasped dramatically. "Girl! What? That's fabulous!"</p><p>Her eyes flitted up to me and she said without any emotion, "As friends."</p><p>My shoulders fell. "Oof. I'm sorry, sister."</p><p>At that moment, loud trumpeting and drumming began, making the whole cafeteria jump in their seats. "What the -?" I cried, and suddenly the marching band began pouring into the hall, surrounding the tables and chairs while playing their instruments at a very loud volume. I soon recognized the song as "Born This Way" by the one and only Lady Gaga. As she passed, playing her flute, Nala Headley winked at me.</p><p>I shared a look with Tink, who immediately perked up. We stood up together and began to yell the lyrics, getting a few more students to join in with us. "Don't hide yourself in regret, Just love yourself and you're set, I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way!" I screamed, throwing my arms into the air.</p><p>The song ended too soon, and the students who had stood up sadly sat back down, chatting with their friends. "I wonder what that was for," Lilo said, chewing her peanut butter sandwich.</p><p>I shrugged. "Who cares? It was great. Probably some cheesy Winter Formal proposal."</p><p>"Attention everyone!" someone shouted loudly, and the cafeteria quieted, looking over to the source of the voice.</p><p>I turned, pushing my dangling earring over my shoulder, and gasped at what I saw. Edward himself, dressed in a dashing burgundy vest was climbing onto a lunch table, spreading his arms. His eyes finally met mine, and he winked. Oh, that damn attractive bastard.</p><p>"Hello, everyone, now that I have your attention. Let us applaud Disney High's marching band, thank you guys," he said, giving the students his charming smile and clapping, getting people to join in.</p><p>"Oh Lord help me," I murmured, turning so my back was to him. My stomach was hurting, I was so anxious about what was to happen next.</p><p>"Now, as you know, I have recently come out as homosexual," Edward professed. Some people cheered, and a few slurs were thrown at him. My blood boiled, but for once I held my tongue. "Yes, and I would like to celebrate that at the upcoming Winter Formal," Edward said, and people clapped with increasing interest.</p><p>"Oh, give me a break," Vanellope muttered, smacking on gummy bears.</p><p>Edward continued. "So I would like Kuzco...P. to join me up here."</p><p>My face burned with embarrassment. The people around us gasped and I could tell they all were staring at me. I took a breath.</p><p>"YEAH, Kuzco!" Tink yelled, standing up and pointing at me. <br/>The rest of my table stood up and started yelling, and Tink grabbed my arm to push me towards Edward. I made eye contact with Meg, the only person sitting, who simply smirked at me. I rolled my eyes at her, and then I suddenly whipped to face Edward, my silky black hair fanning around me.</p><p>I stalked to his table and even Flynn and Robin helped me step onto the table. I almost rolled my ankle, and I pulled down the red poncho thing I was wearing. Damn these heels.</p><p>"You're lucky I'm wearing a decent outfit today, jackass," I said to Edward under my breath. This table was smaller than I thought.</p><p>Edward inhaled, looking me up and down. "You think that's decent? Oh, honey. Never mind."</p><p>He turned to the crowd. Everyone's eyes were on us, but this time I was uncomfortable. I didn't have control over the situation. But I spotted Tink and Meg from aways away, and I took a breath. I put a hand on my hip and struck a sassier pose, getting a sarcastic whistle from someone. Edward took one of my hands, which I held out as if he were to kiss it. "Kuzco Pep...Pepi..." Edward stuttered, looking for my last name.</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, Ed, you'd better get that right on our wedding day. Pepikrankenitz."</p><p>Edward grinned and people giggled, giving me a new wave of confidence. Edward then dramatically went down one knee, clutching my hand in both of his. Playing up the drama as well, I placed a hand on my heart, gaping. "Kuzco Pepikrankenitz," he said, "as the only other out gay guy in this school, my darling, will you go to the Winter Formal with me?"</p><p>My heart dropped. I turned to look at the audience, who waited with bated breath. "Oh of course!" I cried. Edward beamed and stood up, kissing me on the cheek before taking me into a hug.</p><p>"I'm going to murder you in your sleep," I said threateningly in his ear, my acrylic nails digging into his neck a bit.</p><p>"Not before the dance!" Edward replied, tightening his strong grip around my waist. "We have to be the Ice Kings."</p><p>"That's not allowed."</p><p>He sighed into my neck, making the skin tingle. "Fine, you can be Queen," he sighed.</p><p>"Sufficient," I smiled and we released each other, raising our clasped hands to the cheering students. I flinched as a loud noise went off, and then rainbow confetti filled the room.</p><p>I looked over at Edward, who was smirking at me. "Point to Edward."</p><p> </p><p>GISELLE</p><p>I was shopping for dance dresses, humming as I sifted through the aisles. "Giselle, do you like this one?" Perdita asked me from a few feet away, pulling out a stunning old fashioned blue dress.</p><p>"Oh, that one is lovely! It would compliment your eyes!" I told her with a grin.</p><p>"Thank you! I think I'll go try it on." I nodded. Perdita was going to the Winter Formal with her boyfriend Pongo, and I was going with Mulan.</p><p>I couldn't help but smile at the thought. The fall break I had spent with her had been truly amazing. My sister Amy wasn't usually in her apartment, so Mulan and I had a lot of time to ourselves. We learned a lot about each other. Her favorite color is red, favorite animal is a dragon, favorite food is steamed pork dumplings. She dreams to one day be the first professional biologically female athlete on a male sports team.</p><p>I suppose I should be saying he, even if it is even in my head. Mulan had also confided in how he'd been feeling lately.</p><p>We were having a night in, and Mulan was bringing me a bowl of my vegan sorbet. I opened my arms to her as she set the bowl down, and then sank into me, I wrapped my small arms around her and felt all warm.</p><p>She traced small designs on my wrist, causing me to get goosebumps. She sighed. "Giselle...what if I told you that I wasn't feeling exactly comfortable in my body?" she asked in a small voice, and I shifted to look at her, pushing a short lock of black hair out of her eyes.</p><p>"Mulan, you are the most stunning, wonderful person I have ever seen," I told her with every ounce of sincerity.</p><p>She blushed. "No, it's just...I don't feel like...like a girl. When I put on a bra, when people call me 'miss,' just seeing me in this body... it makes me feel sad. I...I don't know. It makes me panicked. Sorry. Sorry, I guess I'm not making any sense."</p><p>I moved so that they were looking right at me, and I stared into their dark brown eyes intently. "Mulan, you can do whatever you want. I won't love you any less, no matter what you feel about your body. You should do whatever makes you happy, because that would make me happy."</p><p>Mulan held my gaze, and then I noticed that there were tears forming in his eyes. It finally fell, and I slowly, gently wiped it away. "Thank you," he whispered, and I kissed him lovingly, the taste of my cherry sorbet on his lips.</p><p>"What do you want me to call you?" I asked quietly, snuggling down again with him in my arms, and I wrapped one leg around his.</p><p>"Mulan is okay... people in America don't know what it means."</p><p>"What does it mean?" I asked.</p><p>"Wood orchid," he answered. "But I suppose that isn't very manly."</p><p>I laughed. "It's manly enough for me."</p><p>I kissed his black hair and he fell asleep in my arms.</p><p>I was smiling at the memory, but then I realized that someone was calling my name. "Giselle!"</p><p>I snapped out of my daze. "Oh! Yes, sorry," I said to Marian.</p><p>She was smiling in the aisle, holding up two dresses. "Which one?" she asked. I looked closely between the turquoise and the white option, pointing at the latter.</p><p>Turning back to the hangers, I finally chose a few dresses to bring back into the dressing room. I ultimately chose a light, happy pink dress which I planned on sewing some flowers onto, as well as crafting my flower crown.</p><p>I couldn't wait for the most magical night of the year with Fa Mulan, my wood orchid. </p><p> </p><p>MEG</p><p>I took a long draw from my cigarette, closing my eyes and slowly exhaling. My dark lipstick left a stain around the paper, and goosebumps trailed up my arms. It was December, and the air was beginning to get chilly, especially when you're in an abandoned alleyway behind campus.</p><p>I looked around the trashed place. There were empty bottles everywhere, and if you took the time you could probably find a whole pound of weed lying on the ground from previous encounters. A few other punks from school were huddled together, probably doing drugs or some shit, getting wasted. I stayed in my own corner, and everyone knew not to mess with me. It was where I went to think.</p><p>But apparently that was not going to happen today.</p><p>"Meg?" an oh-so-familiar voice questioned, and I turned my head to see the one and only Hercules. His orange hair and green shirt stood out painfully in this setting, and black-clothed people eyed him warily.</p><p>I chuckled and turned towards him, leaning my shoulder against the brick and taking another breath of smoke. "Well what do you know. What are you doing on the wrong side of the tracks, Wonderboy?" I asked, blowing the smoke impressively through my teeth.</p><p>Hercules coughed. He was turning a bit red in his effort not to breathe. "Um, I wanted to talk to you." He glanced at the cigarette. "That's, uh, really bad for you, I mean -"</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I know, they taught me all about it in middle school. But hey, we're all gonna die sometime, right?"<br/>I dropped the smoking thing onto the ground, smothering it with my combat boot. I then crossed my arms and looked up at him. "Happy?"</p><p>He smiled. "Yeah."</p><p>I gazed around, them closed my eyes and took a breath. "Listen, Herc. That time we went to the movies...that wasn't me. I don't know what was wrong with me, I was trying to be this annoying girl who was painfully different..."</p><p>"The girl in a flowery skirt and lip gloss?" He laughed a bit. "Yeah, I figured that wasn't you."</p><p>I smiled at him, but then my face fell at another thought. "And I'm sorry that I got all weird about you trying to kiss me -"</p><p>He cut in, taking a step forward. "No, Meg, I'm sorry. That was my fault, I should have asked."</p><p>My heart warmed. I should have asked. Those words were a gift from heaven. God, who knew a man could actually be nice?</p><p>"It's fine," I told him, looking at the dirt. "I just get a little jumpy when a guy touches me."</p><p>Here's eyes softened. "Did something happen?"</p><p>My breath caught. I had to get out of this. I shook my head quickly, a strand of hair falling into my eyes. "No, no, it's all good."</p><p>We stood there awkwardly and I started getting shaky again. My mind drifted to the cigarette I had already put out - that was a waste of 60 cents.</p><p>I put my back against the wall and slid down to sit on the dirty ground. I glanced up at Hercules and patted the spot beside me. He sat down, hugging his knees and tapping on them. I took out another cigarette and lit it.</p><p>Hercules looked at me. "You weren't planning on going to the dance, were you?" he asked with a nervous smile.</p><p>My heart jumped and I hastily blew out the smoke. I looked at him, and he looked anxious. I grinned. "That old thing? I haven't been to one since sixth grade. Why?"</p><p>He looked away, smiling and shaking his head. "No reason, I was just gonna ask you if you wanted to go with me, but if you don't want to go to it -"</p><p>I smiled. This was my perfect opportunity. This was Hades's perfect opportunity. "Sure."</p><p>Herc stopped and looked up at me. "Really?"</p><p>"Sure," I repeated, taking another drag. "I don't dance though. And I'm not wearing a dress."</p><p>Hercules looked starstruck and he finally replied, "No, yeah, of course."</p><p>I gave him another smile, then brought the cigarette to my lips. I looked up at the sky, which was turning to dark blue as nighttime set in. Almost laughing at myself, I handed the cigarette to Hercules. He stared at me. "Oh, come on, just once," I told him with a smirk.</p><p>He sighed and ungracefully took the thing between his fingers. "I have no idea how to do this," he said, studying it.</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Obviously. It's not that hard, genius."</p><p>He put it between his lips as I watched him take a small inhale before he burst into a violent coughing fit.</p><p>I began to laugh, taking it out of his grasp as he doubled over, smiling while he coughed. "How are you not dead?" he asked between wheezes, and I chuckled.</p><p>"I'm living off hate and spite," I told him, and he grinned at me while wiping at the tears in his eyes.</p><p>He took a breath of clean air, closing his eyes as he sighed, "Jesus, Meg."</p><p>I smiled. I couldn't help it when he said my name. I took another breath of smoke and we sat there, watching the sky change colors. Out of the blue, I asked, "Do you think I could sneak some vodka into the dance?"</p><p>Hercules glanced at me and thought for a while. "Probably, if you snuck it in a water bottle."</p><p>I smirked and nudged his arm. "That's exactly what I was thinking." He chuckled. "You're not too bad, Wonderboy," I told him. It was darker, and I could only practically see the outline of his profile.</p><p>"You're not too bad yourself, Meg," he responded, and I grinned.</p><p>We stayed there until the stars appeared and my last cigarette burnt out. </p><p> </p><p>FLYNN</p><p>I walked down to Nala's room, grasping the dining hall's cup in my hand. I had filled it with water and placed a single random flower inside, which I had unlawfully stolen from the dorm's grounds.</p><p>I knocked confidently on the door. Soon it opened and I looked down to see Nala, looking tired and angry. "Oh, it's you. Get in here." She tugged on my shirt, yanking me inside as I yelped. Nala then collapsed onto her bed as I stood there awkwardly, looking around. Jasmine, I presumed, had transformed her desk into a vanity with loads of jewelry and a fancy gold mirror. Iridessa kept her space neat and minimalistic, while Nala's side was magnificently filled. Pictures covered her walls; I recognized a few with me in them, along with Anya, Dima, Tramp, and all her other friends. I tried not to blush when I spotted one of all of us that had doodles around our heads, and mine had hearts hovering around it.</p><p>Nala groaning, curling up in her bed. "I have the worst period cramps, so you're going to distract me."</p><p>I grimaced. "Ugh, TMI."</p><p>Nala gave me a look. "Don't test me."</p><p>I held my hands up in a surrender. "Okay, okay. Well, I brought you this."</p><p>She sat up as I handed her the flower cup and Nala gasped. "Is that from the lawn? How did you not get caught by Lady Tremaine?"</p><p>I shrugged. "I honestly don't know. And the cup is from the dining hall, I had to sneak it past Yzma."</p><p>"What?" she cried, taking the cup in her hands. "That's amazing! Thank you."</p><p>"No problem. All in a day's work," I told her with a wink.</p><p>She smiled and set it on her bedside table, before groaning and putting her hand on her stomach. "It seems that I always get put in charge of taking care of you when you don't feel good," I noticed, smirking and sitting on Jasmine's bed.</p><p>"My roommates are busy, Anya, Dima, and Tramp are with other people, and you're the only one who can put up with my whining," Nala responded, letting her eyes close.</p><p>"I think you mispronounced 'Because, Flynn, you are my only hope. I couldn't survive without you.'"</p><p>She opened her dark eye just to give me an irritated look, which I laughed at. "Hey, since Anya and Dmitri are going to the dance together -" I began, tapping my heel nervously on the ground.</p><p>"They're what?" she exclaimed, sitting up. My eyes widened.</p><p>"What, you didn't know?"</p><p>"No, no one took the time to tell me," she said, hitting the bed.</p><p>I clicked my tongue. "Well, at least we know who they like better."</p><p>Nala stood up, took a step towards me, and hit me on the shoulder before returning to bed. I smiled.</p><p>"You were saying," she asked me calmly, staring at me with a threateningly quiet gaze. I gulped.</p><p>"And we both know that the moment we get there Tramp will run off with some girl," I continued.</p><p>Nala perked up. "My bet's on an Atlantica sister."</p><p>I scoffed. "What? No way. There's no way he's getting an upperclassman. My money's on Alice Kingsley or Lady."</p><p>"Alice doesn't even go to dances." I shrugged, raising an eyebrow. Nala smirked. "$20."</p><p>I held out my hand, which she shook. "You're on."</p><p>She looked at me smugly, crossing her arms as if she'd already won. I stopped myself from staring at her, even if she did look like a mess and was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She still had this glow about her that entranced me. "Um, so," I said nervously. "Then I thought we could go to the dance together. As friends or...not."</p><p>Nala smiled. "What, do you want it to be as something more?"</p><p>I stood up, walking around aimlessly. "You were the one that kissed me." I froze. I did not mean to say that.</p><p>Nala glanced up at me. "What?"</p><p>I sat back down, my leg twitching like crazy now. I should not have let that slip, but I decided to tell her the truth. "Look," I said, staring into her wide deep brown eyes, "at the Halloween party you may have gotten a little too drunk. You got carried away and kissed me. It wasn't a big deal."</p><p>Nala pointed at herself, then to me. "I kissed you?"</p><p>My stomach dropped. "Yes!" I said hastily, truthfully. "You kissed me, I didn't take...advantage of you or anything."</p><p>She sat back on her hands, observing me. Finally, she said, "Huh. You'd think I'd remember that."</p><p>I began to smirk a bit. "Why, because I'm such a good kisser?"</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "You wish."</p><p>I smiled. "So is that a yes? I promise I won't let you get drunk this time."</p><p>Nala grinned at me. "That's a yes."</p><p> </p><p>QUASIMODO</p><p>I spotted Esmeralda walking briskly towards the exit of campus, her dance attire on and her bag over her shoulder. I began to run to catch up to her, my short legs not carrying me very fast.</p><p>"Esmeralda!" I yelled, and she turned around in surprise as she took an earbud out.</p><p>"Quasi?" she said, and I finally reached her, panting. I wiped the sweat from my brow. The run was going to hurt my knees and back later on, but it would be worth it. I hoped.</p><p>"Hey. How are you?" I asked with a smile, waving.</p><p>She smiled back, but glanced hurriedly at the street in front of her. "I'm good, I have to get to my class, though -"</p><p>"Oh! I'll be quick, I promise. I just..." I took a breath as I looked up at her. "I was wondering if you would like to go to the Winter Formal with me?"</p><p>Esmeralda's face fell, and my heart did at the same time. She clutched her bag and turned to face her whole body to me. She was looking down on me, both literally and figuratively, with a piteous expression I knew all too well. "Quasi, I am really sorry -" she began, but I just wanted to end this.</p><p>I waved my big hand dismissively, grinning. "No, it's fine. Really, I get it."</p><p>"I really would," she continued, her green eyes looking completely sincere. I just wanted to leave. "I'm just...sort of in a commitment right now."</p><p>My mind instantly went to that Phoebus guy, but I shook my jealousy off and smiled at her. "Really, Esmeralda, I get it."</p><p>"I'll save a dance for you?" she suggested, trying not to grimace.</p><p>I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sure thing. See you there."</p><p>Then I turned around, my knees hurting, my back hurting, my chest hurting. I walked back home alone. </p><p> </p><p>HICCUP</p><p>"And then Gloria fell right into the fountain!" Astrid exclaimed, laughing hard and dropping her fork.</p><p>I burst into laughter, throwing my head back. Astrid, wiping at her eyes, said, "She got out all soaked and mad. Oh, it was hilarious."</p><p>"I kind of wish I had been there," I said. "But I know she probably went into a rage afterward."</p><p>Astrid widened her eyes exaggeratedly and said, "Oh, you have no idea. She didn't call anyone anything nicer than 'bitch' or 'retard' for the rest of the month."</p><p>I chuckled and took another bite of pie. Ever since we had first met, Astrid and I had been meeting up at Daisy's Diner every Friday. I really liked her. At Dreamworks, she had technically been part of the bullies' group, and I had been terrified of her. But I had gotten to know her recently and she was actually super fun and hilarious.</p><p>Astrid took a fry and dipped it into her vanilla milkshake, popping it into her mouth with a grin. "So, you doing anything this weekend?" she asked.</p><p>I shrugged. "I'll probably go to this roller skating fundraiser with a few of my friends. Next weekend we also have our Winter Formal."</p><p>She perked up. "Really? Aw, man, we haven't had a dance since homecoming. Things are getting pretty dried up at Dreamworks, I wish we had one. All we do is have lame assemblies."</p><p>I blushed. "D'you want to come with me?" I asked her speedily, stumbling over my words.</p><p>But Astrid understood. Her eyes widened. "Really?"</p><p>I nodded. Astrid jumped out of the stool, pumping her fists. "Yes! Yes, I do!"</p><p>I chuckled, glad that that was over and my nerves were calming themselves. I hadn't really meant to do that, it just...happened. But I'm glad it did. "Oh, I'm so excited!" she exclaimed, beaming as she sat back down on her stool and leaning towards me some more. "You don't mind if I wear my homecoming dress, right? I mean, I really don't want to buy another one."</p><p>I laughed. "Of course not. Um, what color is it?"</p><p>She smirked at me. "What, are you going to match?"</p><p>My cheeks heated and I glanced down. "Maybe..." I said slowly.</p><p>She laughed and said, "It's lavender."</p><p>Astrid continued talking about the dance and her school as we ate our food, and I listened, laughed, and looked at her in an awestruck daze the whole time. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: 9832 WORDS BABYYYYY. that's a lot of words. okay, i'm gonna try to sum this up:</p><p>vanessa and eric will still be dating, since he needs money to cover the rest of his expenses. sadly he won't be having a funeral for his mom. peter and alice have reconciled, and they're going to try to talk to wendy at the dance. he found out that his two best friends have crushes on him, yet he still asked tink to the dance platonically. moana, ariel, punz are going single, but moana still has a crush on her redhead bestie. aurora has a cast now, but she can still go to paris, just no cheerleading. she and cinderella have finally kissed and the tension has broken, but now they don't know what to do about their reputations and their boyfriends. kuzco and edward's gay battle is full throttle, and now they're going to the dance together. mulan confessed his feelings to giselle, who was more than accepting. meg is moving forward with herc by going to the dance with him. flynn and nala are becoming a little more than friends, and so are hiccup and astrid. who will win ice king and queen? what drama will the dance entail?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your fondest Disney related memory?</p><p>My Answer: not anything specific, but each time i go to disneyland with my friends it is the best day ever. we always have so much fun and make such wonderful memories and experiences.</p>
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<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Chapter 39</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Winter Formal: Part 1</p><p>ALICE</p><p>"What...what the hell is that?" Tinkerbell asked me with an astonished face.</p><p>I smirked. "It's my outfit for the dance," I told her, putting a hand on my hip.</p><p>Her eyes widened. "That's weird."</p><p>I rolled my eyes at her and stepped in front of the mirror. "It's art, Tinkerbell," I told her, and she held her hands up in surrender. I was wearing some large purple striped pants and a polka dotted vest, of course accessorized with my favorite pocket watch. Over it I had layered a multi-patterned, brightly colored coat along with a ridiculous bow tie and a sash. As a finishing touch, I placed a large top hat on my head. I looked mad. But it was comfortingly familiar.</p><p>I had taken inspiration from a character that recurred in my dreams. Almost every night in my sleep, I get transported to this land - I call it Wonderland - where all sorts of nonsensical things happen. I felt I belonged there more than in the real world.</p><p>Tinkerbell eyed me through the mirror. "Alice, you look crazy."</p><p>I turned and smiled at her. "Thank you."</p><p>Tink gave me a wary look and turned back to applying her makeup. She was wearing a short green dress, with her hair up in a bun. Peter was going to be here to pick us up at any moment. "Are you waiting for somebody?" Tink inquired, powdering her nose and oblivious to our plans.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm walking to the dance with you and Peter," I told her, combing my fingers through my blonde hair.</p><p>Tinkerbell stopped with her makeup. "Of course you are," she said dryly, clearly angry at me ruining her chance to be with Peter. I knew that that would never happen though - for either of us. He only had eyes for Wendy.</p><p>I rolled my eyes in exasperation, starting to walk aimlessly around the room. "Come on, Tink. Peter asked you to the dance specifically as a friend, and I'm his friend too. It'll be like old times, before Wendy. Okay?"</p><p>Tinkerbell turned around and looked up at me. She still seemed upset that I was going with them, but something in her eyes told me she longed for the old times back. I did too. A time where it all wasn't so complicated and we only had friendship, not this stupid, dramatic relationship ordeal.</p><p>I heard a knock on the door and Tinkerbell jumped up eagerly, hurrying to open it. "Hey, Peter!" she said, hugging him. He was wearing a sharp white suit. When Tink let him go, he finally looked at me in shock.</p><p>"Alice, your outfit..."</p><p>I grinned, striking a pose. "Do you like it?"</p><p>He smiled at me, nodding. "It looks awesome."</p><p>Tinkerbell bustled around to find her purse and then the three of us old friends walked down the hall. We had to go into the rain, each with our separate umbrellas on the way to the dance, but once we got there, I was already excited. The last dance I had ever gone to was a disaster, where my date ended up throwing up on me. But this one would be better.</p><p>At the ticket booth, I handed Jane my ticket. "Wow, Alice, you look..." she said, trying to smile and searching for the right word.</p><p>"Thanks," I said with a grin. I got back with Peter and Tink and we headed inside, being met with the colorful lights, music, and winter-themed decorations.</p><p>Peter turned to me. "Okay, are you ready?" he asked with determination in his eyes.</p><p>"Already?" I asked in surprise.</p><p>Peter looked over my shoulder. "She's in line for the photobooth. Once she's done we can get to her."</p><p>Tinkerbell cut in. "Wait, what's going on?"</p><p>I looked at her. "We're going to get Wendy back."</p><p>Tink's face fell. "Right now? But we just got here!"</p><p>Peter turned around to face our friend. "Tink, I have to get my girlfriend back."</p><p>"But - but you took me to the dance. I'm your date tonight," she pouted, her face turning a little red.</p><p>I groaned, and stared at her. "Tink. Peter asked you as a friend. But if you were a real one, you'd support him."</p><p>Tinkerbell took a step back, shocked. She stood there, speechless as Peter and I glared at her. She finally blinked and shook her head, kind of laughing in disbelief. "Fine. Okay, fine. I have to go to the bathroom anyway. I'll see you guys later."</p><p>Peter exhaled, then glanced at me. "Thanks, Al. That was pretty badass."</p><p>I flipped my hair. "What can I say? I'm a goddess."</p><p>He chuckled, but then his eyes widened at something and I turned around. Wendy was taking her pictures with Marian at the moment. Peter grabbed my hand, making me blush, and pulled me toward her. We ran through the people to arrive at the exit of the photobooth station, where Wendy and Marian were just finishing up.</p><p>Peter patted me on the shoulder and I nodded, getting into position. Wendy and Marian left, smiling and going to get the prints of their photos. They began to walk onto the dance floor, but I stepped in front of my friend. They both stopped in their tracks. "Hey, Wendy, can I talk to you?" I asked her with a smile.</p><p>She looked hesitant, glancing at Marian. "Um, I don't know if that's the best idea at the moment," she said, biting her lip.</p><p>I looked at Marian, who looked worried. "Could you give us a moment?" I asked her.</p><p>She nodded and slipped away, leaving me and an uncomfortable looking Wendy alone. I inhaled and looked at her. "Wendy, I am so sorry for what happened. I wanted to apologize, and Peter did too."</p><p>At that moment, Peter appeared beside me, and I saw a flash of pain go over her eyes. "Please, I don't want to do this right now -" Wendy said, trying to walk away.</p><p>"Wendy, please!" Peter pleaded, reaching out to her. Wendy turned around to look at him sadly. "Wendy, I am so sorry. I didn't...we..."</p><p>I couldn't stand to watch him begging like that, his eyes tearing up, so I stepped in. "It was my fault," I said. "Wendy, this is all my fault. I kissed him. I kissed him, Peter pushed me away, I swear."</p><p>Wendy looked at me, heartbroken. "Alice, why would you...why?" she asked, her voice breaking.</p><p>I lost my breath, to hear both of my best friends like this. "I...I..." I struggled to find words. Do I tell her the truth? I had to. She's my best friend, and I owe it to her. I took a deep breath. "Before we met you, Wendy, Peter, Tink, and I were best friends." She nodded. "And I developed a crush on him, and I guess it never went away. And then you made us go on that date and I suppose I just..snapped."</p><p>Wendy stared at me for a few seconds, comprehending what I had just told her. "I promise it will never happen again," I told her.</p><p>She looked back and forth between Peter and I. I could tell he was trying to thank me with his eyes, but I kept mine glued to the brunette. She looked back at me. "Promise?" she asked, hope building in her voice.</p><p>"Promise," I repeated, nodding. Then I smiled and finally glanced at Peter. "Besides, Pan isn't that great of a kisser anyway," I lied with a smirk.</p><p>"Hey!" he cried, displaying a playful hurt look.</p><p>"I think I can object to that," Wendy said with a grin, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him happily.</p><p>I let it go on for a few more seconds, but finally broke it up. "Okay, come on, that's enough," I said with disgust, fake gagging. They giggled and we all made our way to the bleachers, while Wendy and Peter were hand in hand. Neither of them could stop smiling.</p><p>It hurt. It still did. But above all, I was happy that my best friends were happy, even if I wasn't. </p><p> </p><p>WENDY</p><p>I couldn't help but smile the whole time Alice, Peter, and I spent at the dance. As we sat on the bleachers together, I kept my hand laced through Peter's and leaned my head on his shoulder. Alice was talking animatedly, and got so mad that her favorite magazine was being cancelled that she threw down her crazy top hat. I giggled, and once she calmed down, we had a pause in the conversation.</p><p>Suddenly, Peter, who had been very quiet lately, spoke up. "Wendy," he said, sitting up with a dazed look over his eyes.</p><p>"Oh no," Alice said with a snicker. "He has an idea. This can't be good."</p><p>I grinned at her and turned to Peter, who hadn't even acknowledged Alice's comment. "Wendy, how did you find out about what happened between me and Alice?"</p><p>I immediately turned red, thinking of Tinkerbell. She was my friend, and she had specifically told me not to say that she had told me. I shook my head apologetically at them, for Alice had now perked up with interest as well. "I'm sorry, I can't say."</p><p>Peter suddenly grabbed both of my hands, looking desperate. "Wendy, we have to know. How did it get out?"</p><p>Alice was staring at me, wide eyed, when she said slowly, "It was Tinkerbell, wasn't it?"</p><p>I pressed my lips together.</p><p>Peter looked at her quizzically. "Why would it be Tink?" he asked in confusion.</p><p>I looked at her, and could tell Alice was getting angrier again. "She's the only person I told."</p><p>Peter gasped. "You told someone?" he asked, his voice laced with betrayal. "You said you wouldn't!"</p><p>Alice grinned sheepishly. "Yes? But, in my defense, she got more details out of me when I was hungover after the Halloween party."</p><p>"You told her twice?" Peter exclaimed.</p><p>Alice popped her lips, not making eye contact with him. "Yes? I didn't mean to, though."</p><p>Peter looked at me, furious. "Was Tink the one who told you?"</p><p>I hesitated for a second, before giving him a small nod. Peter balled his fists, seething. "Why would she do this?" he demanded, looking around the gym.</p><p>Alice rolled her eyes, which were covered in eyeliner. "Remember she has a crush on you, genius."</p><p>I gasped. "What?" I asked, my mind racing. What was happening tonight?</p><p>Alice flinched and looked up at me. "Oops."</p><p>"But why would she tell Wendy?" Peter asked. I almost laughed.</p><p>"It's obvious, Pan. She wanted to break you and Wendy up," Alice explained, and Peter stood up quickly.</p><p>"Where is she?" he asked, continuing to scan the room.</p><p>I grabbed his arm. "Peter, calm down," I told him, trying to pull him back to his seat.</p><p>But he gently pushed my hands off and stormed down to the floor, heading for the dance floor. Alice and I followed him, hand in hand, when I spotted Tinkerbell dancing.</p><p>Peter marched up to her, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around, her face splitting into a grin. "Peter! Did you come to dance with me?"</p><p>I was afraid that he was going to snap and possibly hurt her. The veins on his forearms were popping out like crazy, and his fists were balled. "You wanted Wendy to dump me," he seethed, staring her down.</p><p>I saw her eyes finally flit over to me, and they hardened. I was growing scared. Who were these people? All of a sudden they had changed into angry, love obsessed monsters.</p><p>"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him defiantly, tilting her head to meet his eyes. But Peter didn't buy into her game.</p><p>"I thought you were my best friend, Tink," he said, and I could hear the pain in his voice, even over the music.</p><p>She grabbed his wrist desperately. "I am! I was the only one there for you when Wendy dumped you -"</p><p>"Which you set up! I can't believe you. I can't believe that you would do this to me, something so selfish. You're not my friend anymore." And with that, Peter turned on his heel and walked back to me, putting his arm sweetly around my waist. His face softened the moment he saw me.</p><p>I glanced back to see Alice giving Tinkerbell the finger, who stomped and her face was burning red. She turned around and stormed through the crowd.</p><p>I smiled as Alice joined my side. I was glad that everything - well, mostly everything - was okay. I had my loving boyfriend on my left and my best friend on my right. We would be okay as long as we were together. </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>I sighed, looking over my dress in the mirror. It was beautiful, a light blue color with designs over the hems and bodice that made it look like I had crafted it entirely out of ice. Of course I didn't, though. I was terrified of using my powers even more so, since hitting Hans. Every time I did use them, I always ended up hurting somebody. They were a curse.</p><p>"Anya!" Tiger yelled from the door. "Dmitri's here!"</p><p>There was a gasp from the bathroom and Anya came stumbling out. I looked at her, freezing. "How do I look?" she asked. She was wearing a deep blue velvet dress with sparkly trains flowing behind her, accessorized by white gloves and diamond jewelry.</p><p>"Amazing," I responded genuinely, smiling at her.</p><p>She rolled her eyes and walked past me to grab her handbag, punching me in the shoulder lightly. "You too, Els. Have fun, okay? Save a dance for me?"</p><p>I smiled and nodded, and she left the room arm and arm with Dmitri. I exhaled and Tiger walked back to her bed. "You do look great, Elsa," she said as she pulled out her phone. I turned to her and she glanced up. "What's wrong?"</p><p>I shook my head, but then walked over to sit next to her. "What if it's awkward?" I asked quietly, playing with my gloves.</p><p>Tiger sighed and put down her phone, sitting up. "Els, it's only going to be awkward if you make it awkward."</p><p>"And I am going to make it awkward, that's what I do best. I think Jack feels like he's my babysitter or something," I admitted.</p><p>"Well, to be honest, you're his babysitter too. He probably would have broken his skull open by now if you weren't with him. Do you remember the first week he was here, he jumped out of his window to see if he still had his powers?"</p><p>I smiled a bit, remembering how he had fallen two stories, but still managed to end up all right. "Yeah, I suppose."</p><p>Tiger put a hand on my knee. "You're going to go to this dance with him, have a good time, eat some food, do all that, okay? You guys made up. You're fine."</p><p>I sighed, then nodded. "You're right. You're right, Tiger. We're fine. Thank you."</p><p>"No problem. When is he supposed to be here?" I stood up and walked back to the mirror to check on my makeup again. I glanced at the clock.</p><p>"Any minute now. He'll probably be late."</p><p>Sure enough, there was a knock on the door twenty minutes after seven. I opened the door to find Jack standing there with a box, looking sheepish. He was soaked. I gave him a look, and he grinned apologetically. "Hi, I'm sorry I'm late. I was going to the chocolate place, but it was closed so I had to go to the next one and the line was really long and I kind of forgot an umbrella and so I was late and I'm sorry. But I brought you chocolates?" He held them out to me.</p><p>I couldn't help but smile, taking them. "Thank you, Jack."</p><p>"You look beautiful," he said with a grin. He was standing there, water dripping all the way to the carpet and his white hair and suit completely wet.</p><p>I blushed. "Thank you. But you're going to get a cold -"</p><p>He shook his head and smirked. "The cold never bothered me anyway," he said, raising an eyebrow. That's what I always said to him when he tried to offer me his jacket. I smiled and kissed his cheek, then placed the chocolates inside my room as Tiger gave me a wave. "Ready to go?" he asked, holding out his hand.</p><p>"Hold on," I said, and hurried inside to grab my umbrella. "Now I am."</p><p>He rolled his eyes at me and I took his hand. We walked down to the lobby and then braved the rain, after I opened up the umbrella. "You know, I technically don't need it, I'm already wet," Jack said with a twinkle in his eye.</p><p>"Oh, stop, just get under the umbrella," I told him. It really was pouring out there, and I was thankful my shoes weren't that expensive.</p><p>"What, you're afraid to get wet?" he asked with a grin. He pushed me a little bit, throwing me off balance.</p><p>I gasped as the water poured down on me, onto my hair. "Jack Frost!" I cried, ducking back under the umbrella. He was laughing. I pushed him back, out into the rain.</p><p>"What did you think that was gonna do?" he asked with a snort, holding his hands out. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, keeping the umbrella to myself as we walked the rest of the way to the gym, Jack staying in the rain the whole time.</p><p>We ducked into the gym's entryway, where a few staff and students were collecting tickets at the door. We walked up to Judy and I gave her a smile. "Hey, you two. Tickets?" she asked, holding out her hand.</p><p>I looked over at Jack, who had them. He dug around in his pockets, his face getting more worried by the minute. He glanced over at me and looked at Judy, empty-handed. "I do have them...in my dorm," he said with a helpless smile. I put my head in my hands. "But I swear, Judy, I swear I bought them! Ask Belle, she sold them to me!"</p><p>"Jack!" I said, sighing.</p><p>Judy furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry, Jack, I need the tickets -"</p><p>"Oh, come on, Judy, I have them in my dorm! They were thirty five dollars, I have the receipt...that's in my room too. But I'll bring them to you Monday, how about that?"</p><p>Judy shook her head, her ponytail swinging. "I'm really sorry, Jack, that's just unethical. You'll just have to buy them again."</p><p>Jack huffed and looked like he was about to try to convince her again, but I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a look. He deflated. I looked over at Judy apologetically and said, "We'll buy two tickets. Thanks, Judy." I handed her the money and smiled at her, then dragged Jack into the gym.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Els, I'll pay you back," he said over the music.</p><p>I scoffed. "Yes, please do. Come on, let's go vote."</p><p>After voting for the Ice Royalty nominees, Jack and I greeted our friends who were there. I hung out by the food stand, completely happy with watching the people dance. The flashing lights, the loud talking, the booming music was already enough for me. I didn't need to be encircled with dancers.</p><p>Jack stood with me, but I could tell he was getting restless. He also seemed miserable now that his hair and clothes were still damp. After a while, he snapped and said, "Wanna dance?"</p><p>I smiled. "No, no thanks. I'm good here."</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "Please, Elsa? Don't be a party pooper."</p><p>I laughed. "A party pooper? Really, Jack, you go ahead."</p><p>"Please?"</p><p>I sighed heavily and looked into the crowd. It didn't look like there were too many people...It wasn't even eight yet. I glanced back at Jack's puppy dog eyes and I huffed. "Fine. One dance," I told him firmly, holding up my finger.</p><p>"Yes!" he cheered, pumping his fist. He grabbed my wrist and led me to the dance floor, pushing through the people. Anxiety began rising in my chest as we grew closer and closer to the center of the room. I flinched as people moved in around me, and I felt myself shrinking.</p><p>Some pop song that I didn't know came on, and people got excited. I lost my breath as more people flooded onto the dance floor, closing in on us. Jack had led us to the center and I looked at him helplessly, but he wasn't looking at me. He grinned and danced with everyone. The beat dropped, and my ears exploded. People yelled and started jumping up and down, jostling me around. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. I was going to be trampled. Colored lights blinded me, so I shut them tightly. I hunched down, gasping for breath.</p><p>The song finally ended, but I was still shaking. I frantically looked around for Jack - I had to get out of here. I had to get out of here right now. I finally spotted him, laughing with Robin Hood. I stepped toward him. "Jack," I croaked out. He turned around, and the lights immediately dimmed. "All of Me" by John Legend began to play, and people gravitated towards each other for a slow dance. Jack gave me a soft smile and held his hand out to me. I kept mine close to my chest. Even though Mickey had put the magic ban on again, I couldn't trust myself. I wasn't going to hurt Jack.</p><p>"I have to go home," I told him, my voice still shaking. I felt like I was going to collapse.</p><p>Jack's face fell. "What? Why?"</p><p>I shook my head, already taking a step back. "I have to go, Jack. I can't stay here."</p><p>Jack walked towards me, making me flinch as he reached out for me. "One more dance?" he asked, a pleading look in his eye.</p><p>I felt shattered. I couldn't. I couldn't even stand on my two feet. I shook my head. "I can't." I turned to go, but he grabbed my hand. I felt my glove slip off, leaving my pale hand exposed. My heart dropped, and I whipped around.</p><p>"Give me my glove!" I cried, reaching for it.</p><p>"Elsa, it's okay," Jack said, clutching it and trying to calm down.</p><p>The fear started rising in my chest again, and I felt my hand grow cold. It's okay. You can't use your powers here. No one can get hurt.</p><p>"I'm sorry Jack," I said, turning and beginning to push my way through the couples.</p><p>"Elsa, please!"</p><p>I hugged myself and took a deep breath. I couldn't stop it anymore. I turned and put my hand out to stop him. "Jack, stop!" I yelled, but I watched as all of a sudden the ice flew out of my hand, encircling me in spiky icicles. People gasped and jumped out of the way. My eyes widened and I stared down at my hand. What had I done? I thought my powers wouldn't work on campus?</p><p>I looked around at the students running, and Jack stood there, appalled, my glove still in his hand. My eyes locked with his. I couldn't do it. I turned and ran. I shoved my way through the people, keeping my ungloved hand tucked into the folds of my dress. "Elsa!" someone cried. I glanced towards them. Both Hans and Anna were staring at me with concern, their hands out. I continued to run.</p><p>I burst out of the gym and dashed into the rain. It immediately soaked me and my dress, but I began to run towards the dorm building. The lake was in my way. It would take longer to go around. I looked around. If my powers worked...I cautiously went up to the lake's beach, and put my toe down on the surface of the dark water. Ice swirled out from my foot. It was solid. I tested my whole weight on it, and when the ice held, I began to sprint across the lake, the ice spreading from the spots the soles of my heels touched.</p><p>I had to be alone. I couldn't hurt anyone. I turned towards the woods and disappeared into them, trees frosting over like they did on the night of the talent show. But this time, no one would find me. </p><p> </p><p>ANYA</p><p>The moment I stepped into the doorframe, I was smirking. Dmitri looked...a little bit dumb. I snickered. His mouth was gaping wide, and he was staring at me in awe. His black tuxedo was a little big on him, and his auburn hair was gelled a bit. I shrugged at him, as if to say, "What?"</p><p>He shook his head out of his daze and hurriedly offered me his elbow. I took it. "You look beautiful," he told me quietly, watching where we were going.</p><p>I smiled. "Thank you. You look...better than you usually do," I told him with a laugh.</p><p>"Hey!" he exclaimed, looking at me.</p><p>"Hey, you lovebirds," Tramp said, standing up from his chair in the common room.</p><p>I rolled my eyes at him, and I could tell Dima was doing to the same. "Nala and Flynn aren't here yet?" Dmitri asked. Tramp shook his head, but at that moment, the two appeared in front of us, side by side.</p><p>Everyone gasped. Nala looked absolutely amazing. She was wearing a long, white gown with patterns all over it, and her face was painted. "Wow," Tramp said, his mouth hanging open.</p><p>Flynn pointed at him with a stern look. "Watch it," he warned.</p><p>We laughed and I moved to stand in between Nala and Dima. "You really had to show off, didn't you?" I asked her with a teasing smile.</p><p>She grinned and rolled her darkly-colored eyes, but then looked around and said in a small voice, "Do you think it's too much?"</p><p>"No, not at all. Though you might have wanted to give Flynn a little warning, he looks awful next to you," I replied, giggling.</p><p>"I can hear you!" Flynn yelled, and I stuck my tongue out at him.</p><p>The five of us began to walk to the gym. The rain had let up by then - we had chosen to be fashionably late. We laughed all the way, making jokes to Tramp's expense. He was the only single one here, but he vowed to have a date by the end of the night. Nala and Flynn had already placed their bets on who it was going to be. I went in with Flynn on Lady, and Dmitri bet on Marie, which I thought was a long shot. "Get your twenty dollars ready," I told him jokingly, and he made a face at me.</p><p>We arrived at the ticket desk and all individually gave them to the student volunteers. I walked in, arm in arm with Nala and Dmitri. Tramp was already looking around. "Hey, look, there's Lady!" I told him, pointing.</p><p>"Cheater!" Dmitri and Nala cried at the same time, hitting me on both shoulders. I laughed and Tramp winked at me, walking after Lady. I gave a fistbump to Flynn.</p><p>"Food?" he asked, pointing over to the snack table.</p><p>"That's exactly what I was thinking," Nala said with a twinkle in her eye. Dima and I followed them to the sandwiches. We watched the people dancing, and laughed at a few of them, making commentary on people's outfits. Then Nala dragged us over to the photobooth.</p><p>I giggled and grabbed a moustache shaped accessory. We posed for the six pictures, using the paper, and at one point Flynn picked Nala up. The last one was serious, and Dima and I hugged (a bit awkwardly) and smiled at the camera as Nala and Flynn did the same. I felt happier than the laser tag kiss. And that was really saying something.</p><p>Eventually, we ended up on the dance floor, dancing to the clean version of a Post Malone song. I smiled the whole time. Dmitri was really bad at dancing, but it made it even more entertaining. Flynn was surprisingly a bit better than average. Nala, being the dedicated dancer she was, was completely coordinated and caused people to stare.</p><p>I heard the into to the best party song ever. "Party Rock Anthem." I gasped and looked at my friends, who were smirking the same way I was. We began to clap to the beat, getting hyped. The beat dropped and I started jumping around with Dmitri, moving my head and my arms around. The lights flashed and illuminated Dmitri's smile as he watched me. I mouthed the rap to him and he laughed. Then I ended up turning around to Nala and Flynn, who were as excited as I was. We danced and jumped to the whole song, losing our breaths but I could practically feel the adrenaline and serotonin coursing through my veins.</p><p>As the song ended and an awkward slightly slow one came on, the four of us exited the dance floor, sweating and moving to the wall. My smile remained on my face. Dmitri was panting, but he couldn't stop grinning at me. It made my heart pound, and it wasn't from the exercise.</p><p>"I'm going to go say hi to Jasmine, okay?" Nala said to Flynn, and he nodded. She disappeared into the crowd, and Flynn, Dmitri, and I stood there awkwardly. I coughed.</p><p>"Um, we're going to go over here. We'll be right back, Flynn," I said with an apologetic smile, taking Dima's hand. I took him over to the entrance of the bathrooms, a spot that was deserted.</p><p>"School bathrooms," he said smartly. "Sexy."</p><p>I rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. "You're impossible."</p><p>His mischievous grin faded, and he looked genuinely concerned. "Hey, I'm sorry -"</p><p>I smiled and then suddenly took his face in my hands, kissing him boldly. When I finally let go, he looked at me in awe, then said in a deep voice. "On second thought, maybe the abandoned bathrooms aren't too bad of an idea. He swept me inside as I giggled, kissing him again.</p><p>The Winter Formal wouldn't be too bad.</p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>Moana, Rapunzel, and I were standing on the side of the dance floor, talking over the loud music. "Hey," Rapunzel said, looking over my shoulder. "Check out who's behind you."</p><p>"Who?" I asked. She simply nodded at the area behind me, and I subtly turned to look.</p><p>There stood Eric, alone by the chips, watching the people dance. He looked really good. "You should go talk to him," Rapunzel urged.</p><p>"What? No way. Plus, I'm mad at him, remember?" I said nervously, turning back around again.</p><p>"Oh, come on," Rapunzel whined, tugging on my arm.</p><p>"Besides, I don't want to leave you guys here. We're the... dateless group. We've gotta stick together," I said slowly.</p><p>"Yeah, but by the looks of it, Eric looks pretty dateless at the moment too. Just go up there!"</p><p>"No, I can't. What do I even say?"</p><p>"Just be yourself. But don't be nervous and jumpy."</p><p>"But I am nervous and jumpy!" I retorted, already fidgeting with my hands.</p><p>"Well... just say, 'Hi, Eric,'" Rapunzel told me.</p><p>"Okay. Okay. I'm going," I said anxiously, looking at my friends' faces. Rapunzel gave me a bright encouraging smile, Moana with a slightly smaller one.</p><p>I pivoted and marched up to the snack table slowly, muttering to practice, "Hey Eric... no. Hey there. Nope. How you doin'?" I gave small finger guns, then mentally slapped myself. "Okay, just say hi Eric. Like Rapunzel said. Rapunzel who is single...And I'm supposed to be mad at him. Yeah! He betrayed me! I'm mad at him!" I said, my volume rising.</p><p>"Ariel?" Eric asked, and I was in front of him all of a sudden. I felt my face immediately turn red.</p><p>"Um, hey Eric."</p><p>"Hi! You look beautiful," he said, staring at my dress and then meeting my eyes. Even in the dark, flashing lights, his eyes were still breathtaking.</p><p>"T-thank you," I stammered, brushing hair behind my ear. I'm supposed to be mad at him. My face hardened, and I saw him swallow.</p><p>"Can I get you some punch? I was wondering if we could talk," he asked nervously, pointing a thumb behind his shoulder.</p><p>I sighed. "Okay."</p><p>I followed him over to the punch stand, and he got two cups for us. Then he turned to face me and took a deep breath. "Okay. First off, I wanted to apologize," he said genuinely. I rolled my eyes. "Please hear me out."</p><p>I waited, meaning for him to continue. "Ariel, I am so sorry for everything I've done to you, with Vanessa."</p><p>My eyes narrowed. "Wait, everything? Is it not just the talent show?"</p><p>He cringed, his eyes not meeting mine. "I might have been in on the bathroom plan too."</p><p>I gasped. "What? I thought you helped the others find me!"</p><p>Eric pressed his lips together, rubbing the back of his neck. "That was....fake. I was the one who helped lure you out into Vanessa's hands."</p><p>I could already feel my eyes welling up with tears. "How could you?" I asked, my voice cracking. "I thought...I thought you were good!"</p><p>He flinched, looking up at me. "I'm sorry, Ariel, I had to do it -"</p><p>"You had to?" I exclaimed. I was feeling a little hysterical, and put my drink on the table. "Tell me, Eric, why did you have to?"</p><p>His eyes darted around, and I crossed my arms, waiting for a B.S. explanation. Finally, he leaned in and began talking in a whisper. "I'm in a contract with Vanessa." I raised an eyebrow. A contract? "I have to date her and help her with her schemes," he told me.</p><p>"For what?" I asked, skeptical. "What could possibly be worth doing that?"</p><p>Eric exhaled, his eyes traveling to the ground again. "My mom. She had brain cancer, I needed a way to cover the bills."</p><p>I put my hand over my mouth. "Oh, Eric, I'm sorry," I said softly.</p><p>He kept his eyes down as he said sadly, "She died a few weeks ago."</p><p>I gasped quietly. "Eric, I..." At a loss for words, I stepped forward and hugged him tightly. When I let go, his eyes were a little watery. "I'm so sorry," I repeated, holding one of his hands. " I didn't know."</p><p>He nodded. "It's okay. She could barely remember me anyway." My heart broke even more. "I needed to pay for her surgeries and treatments, but with my dad gone too, I had no way to do it. So Vanessa and Ursula offered me help. I had to take it."</p><p>It all made sense now. Eric didn't even like Vanessa, he was just dating her to save his mom. That almost made him even more attractive. I nodded, looking shyly up at him. "Well, in that case, I forgive you," I said. I felt like a jerk for being so mad at him.</p><p>He chuckled. "Good. Thank you."</p><p>The lights dimmed even more and my heart jump. I could feel myself break into a sweat as a slow song began to play, and couples walked onto the dance floor. Eric smiled and politely held his hand out to me. "Forgiveness dance?" he suggested.</p><p>I giggled and accepted his hand, praying he couldn't tell how clammy it was. He led me out into the crowd and then placed his hands on my waist. I slowly put mine on his shoulders and we began to sway to the music. I looked up into his blue eyes once again.</p><p>"So," he said, making conversation. "This will be way better for our stage chemistry." I smiled, but was inwardly thinking, What about our real chemistry?</p><p>"Yeah. Grease," I said lamely. "That's coming up soon."</p><p>He chuckled. "Yeah, it is. Are you ready?"</p><p>I shook my head with wide eyes. "I am so nervous."</p><p>Eric smiled. "You're going to be great. You have an amazing voice, Ariel."</p><p>I blushed. "Thanks. You do too."</p><p>A few more silent, awkward moments passed, and then I bravely asked, "So, this contract with Vanessa, how long exactly will that last?"</p><p>Eric sighed. "I honestly don't know. As long as the hospital keeps charging me for her care, then I'm still dating her. Unless, of course, she asks for something outrageous. But I promise, I will try my best to not get involved in any of her plots ever again."</p><p>I ducked my head with a smile. "Okay. Thanks."</p><p>We continued dancing, simply swaying to the slow beat. I was too nervous to look in his eyes, but I got close enough by staring at his eyebrows.</p><p>The song finally ended and I reluctantly let go of his shoulders. "More punch?" he offered, and I nodded and followed him to the table. Along the way, I looked for Rapunzel or Moana to flash them a thumbs up, but both of them were gone. Oh well. This night was already going even better than I thought. </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL</p><p>"I hope it goes well," I said to Moana as we watched Ariel walk nervously towards Eric.</p><p>"Yeah," Moana replied in a forlorn voice, and it caused me to look over at her.</p><p>"Hey, you okay?"</p><p>Moana tore her eyes from the redhead. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I'm going to get some chips, want anything?"</p><p>I shook my head. "No thanks. Mind if I go talk to Fawn?" She was one of the fairies who had an animal talent. Her personality was a lot like mine, and I had spotted her a bit away on the other side of the gym.</p><p>Moana shook her head. "Go ahead."</p><p>I smiled at her and skipped through some people, excusing myself until I reached Fawn. I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned from her conversation with Eilonwy. Her face lit up. "Rapunzel!" she cried, grabbing my arms. "Hi! Wow, I haven't seen you in so long! You look great!"</p><p>I giggled and said, "Thanks! You do too!" Fawn had come in a beautiful autumn colored dress which billowed out behind her.</p><p>"Thank you! We were going to go dance, want to join us?" she asked, pointing to the crowd. At that moment, one of my favorite songs "Best Song Ever" came on, and I grinned and nodded.</p><p>My friend took my wrist and dragged me into the heart of the crowd, surrounded by people jumping to the chorus. "And we danced all night to the best song ever<br/>We knew every line, now I can't remember<br/>How it goes but I know that I won't forget her<br/>'Cause we danced all night to the best song ever!"</p><p>I was beaming throughout the whole song, singing along with Fawn and feeling the excitement coursing through my body. Once the song ended, many more good ones came on, keeping me glued to the floor. We danced and screamed the lyrics to "Better Now," "Baby," and "Party in the USA."</p><p>Eventually, I lost my breath and excused myself from my friends, weaving my way through the dancers to get to a water station. I filled a paper cup up and then moved aside for a guy, and I stood by the wall, surveying the crowd.</p><p>The next slow song came on, and I audibly gasped. I loved this song! I began humming softly to the tune, swaying in my place. Thinking no one was around me, I began to sing quietly. "And at last I see the light<br/>And it's like the fog has lifted<br/>And at last I see the light<br/>And it's like the sky is new<br/>And it's warm and real and bright<br/>And the world has somehow shifted."</p><p>"You have a beautiful voice," someone complimented, and I jumped. My heart racing, I turned my head to the side. It was Flynn Rider. I blushed fiercely.</p><p>"Thank you," I said, smiling up at him. "Um, I love this song."</p><p>He smirked, then snapped his fingers. "Hey, Blondie, right?"</p><p>He remembered me! I nodded. "Rapunzel."</p><p>Flynn laughed. "I like Blondie better."</p><p>I giggled and nervously rocked on my toes. The guy's part was coming up. What if Flynn sang with me? The thought excited me. It would be like I was in an animated movie!</p><p>The lyrics began. No words left Flynn's mouth, but I could swear I heard him humming along. I looked over at him, and he only darted his eyes over to me, trying to play it off and pretend he wasn't singing. I smiled and elbowed his arm. "Sing!" I said with a grin, looking up at his face.</p><p>He glanced down at me with that Cool Guy face. He then glued his eyes to the other people. "I don't sing."</p><p>"Oh, come on, everyone can sing!"</p><p>"I can sing, I just choose not to sing. There's a difference, Blondie."</p><p>I grabbed his forearm and put on my best puppy dog face. I was going to get my animated movie moment. "Please?" I asked. "Come on, we can sing the duet part! You can do it really quietly."</p><p>Flynn rolled his eyes and I could tell he was trying not to smile. "Ready? And at last I see the light!" I sang, and he moved his mouth a bit.</p><p>"And it's like the fog has lifted," I heard him murmur. I smiled encouragingly.</p><p>"And at last I see the light, and it's like the sky is new!" I sang sweetly.</p><p>"And it's warm and real and bright<br/>And the world has somehow shifted." He finally joined in with me! And he did have a really good voice, he even did the harmonization.</p><p>He finally looked into my eyes, and I realized I was still holding his hand. My heart skipped a beat, and I stared deeply into his brown eyes.</p><p>"All at once everything looks different<br/>Now that I see you," we finished softly.</p><p>But as the music died away, I couldn't get myself to tear my eyes away from his. We stood there for what seemed like minutes, hand in hand. It was taking my breath away, but I had never felt so happy. And that was really saying something.</p><p>Eventually, Flynn awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away from me. "Um, I should find...I should find my date." My heart plummeted and we dropped hands.</p><p>"Oh. Okay. I'll see you around?" I asked hopefully.</p><p>He paused and looked back at me. "I hope so, Blondie." And he disappeared.</p><p>Letting his words sink in, I twirled around and squealed. Flynn Rider was going to stay in my mind for the rest of the night. </p><p> </p><p>NALA</p><p>I finally found Flynn again, who was also looking around for me. When I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around, he couldn't help but look me up and down. "Wow," he breathed.</p><p>I giggled. I was, to be honest, looking really, really good. I was wearing a traditional African ball gown. Its base was white, covered in blue, red, gold, brown, orange tribal patterns. I had also put on my favorite gold necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. I added white dots and lines to my dark face, and some eyeshadow and eyebrows. I hoped it wasn't too much, but I did look really good.</p><p>"Dance with me?" I asked him, holding out my hand.</p><p>He smirked. "Only if you're drunk, because man, that was hot," he joked, raising an eyebrow at me.</p><p>I rolled my eyes and took his hand, pulling him through the people. Choosing a relatively empty spot, "Single Ladies" began to play. I gave him a stern look. "Now you actually have to dance," I told him.</p><p>He crossed his arms. "I am not dancing to this song."</p><p>I looked him in the eye and when Beyonce said, "All the single ladies, Now put your hands up!" I threw my hands into the air, a dead serious look on my face and began mouthing the words.</p><p>Flynn began to laugh. "Oh, wow, Headley. I'm hurt. Really. Beyonce has broken my heart."</p><p>I waved my left hand back and forth, pointing to my ring finger, keeping my stoic, fierce expression on. I started to do the dance, which of course I had loved to practice as a child, earning a smirk from Flynn.</p><p>I placed my finger on his chest, backing him up. "Dance," I told him.</p><p>He touched his head. "Deja vu. Are you sure you're not drunk?" he asked me, but I wasn't exactly sure what he meant. But I hardened my eyes even more and Flynn's face fell. He started moonwalking.</p><p>I burst into laughter at his awkwardness. "Oh my god," I gasped, covering my mouth.</p><p>He rolled his eyes at me and then we both just danced around, giggling and smiling the whole time. That's when a slow song came on.</p><p>Knowing he wouldn't, I decided to make the first move. I stepped forward and rested my hands on his shoulders, moving his to my own waist. I began to lead, slowly swaying back and forth in a circle. I looked into his eyes, a warm hazel. His face was very nice. Was that weird? It was nice to look at. He had nice skin. It must be all those skin products in his bathroom.</p><p>I smiled at him, and he started to pull this odd face, as if he was persuading someone, unsuccessfully, to kiss him. I laughed. "What are you doing?" I asked, snorting.</p><p>The expression fell, and he looked at a loss. "What do you mean? That was my smolder! It gets the girls every time!" he exclaimed, frowning.</p><p>I laughed. "Are you sure about that?"</p><p>He scoffed. "A thousand percent. You're just the outlier."</p><p>I laughed, not believing him. "Well, maybe it did work. What if we tried that kiss you talked about...sober this time?" I suggested boldly.</p><p>He smirked and leaned down, his lips connecting to mine. I could almost feel the sparks flying around us, time slowing down as my heart felt like it had wings. I could get used to this. </p><p> </p><p>PHILIP</p><p>Aurora did look beautiful tonight. I had carried her through the rain to the dance while she carried the umbrella. Snow and Florian and Henry and Cindy did the same, to make sure that the girls' shoes didn't get wet. We giggled all the way. Now that we were here, Rory's crutches were kind of keeping her off the dance floor. It made me sad to see her standing off to the side, watching everyone dance on their two feet.</p><p>But then a very familiar song came on, and both of our faces lit up. I turned away from my group of friends and she excused herself from talking to Snow. Aurora grinned and grabbed her crutches, and I hurried over to her. "Would you like to dance with me?" I asked her with a smile, holding out my hand and bowing a bit.</p><p>She beamed and nodded. "Of course."</p><p>I helped onto the dance floor, surrounded by fellow students.</p><p>"Don't say no no no no no, Just say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, And we'll go go go go go, If you're ready, like I'm ready!"</p><p>Aurora giggled as we danced, she couldn't do much so I took over, moving around her. She bobbed her head, her golden hair bouncing and her beautiful violet eyes shining. I wanted to explode every time I looked at her. I still felt the same way about her as I did when we had first met. I knew she was the one.</p><p>"'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do<br/>Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you<br/>Is it the look in your eyes or is it this dancing juice?<br/>Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you!" I sang to her, smiling. We had danced to this song our first dance together. Eventually, I hoped to dance to it with her on our wedding night. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.</p><p>I noticed that she could barely move, so I suddenly swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style. "Philip!" she cried, laughing. I continued dancing with her in my arms, singing along to the lyrics as she smiled, looking into my eyes.</p><p>"I think I wanna marry you!" I said to her, spinning around and causing her to squeal, wrapping her arms around my neck. Once the song ended, I kissed her sweetly, smiling.</p><p>"You can put me down now," she told me quietly, and I walked to the wall again to gently place her working foot onto the floor.</p><p>Aurora turned to smile at me. "I love you," she said.</p><p>"I love you too," I replied. I kissed her hand.</p><p>Grinning, she then looked around and then back to me. "I'm gonna go talk to Cindy, okay?"</p><p>I nodded. "Sure. I'll be with Henry." We parted for a bit, and I walked over to join Henry and Eric by the chips. "Hey guys," I said, patting Henry on the back.</p><p>"Your girlfriend ditch you too?" he asked with a smile.</p><p>I smiled. "Yep. You too, Eric?"</p><p>He shook his head sheepishly. "More like I'm the one hiding from Vanessa. She won't get off of me, I told her that her fake eyelashes were falling off. She's in the bathroom trying to fix them, so I bought myself some time."</p><p>I laughed, and we chatted a bit. I watched Aurora clumsily dancing with Cinderella, giggling. The song "I Kissed a Girl" came on and they became very excited.</p><p>"So Aurora's okay?" Eric asked. All three of us had ended up watching them dancing.</p><p>I glanced at him. "Yeah. She's really disappointed about Grease, though. How's Ariel doing?"</p><p>Eric sighed, his gaze wandering. "Um, we're a little rocky personally. I was hoping to kind of settle an argument before opening night. But in character, she's amazing."</p><p>I nodded, taking a sip of punch and turning my head back to the dance floor. Cindy and Aurora were now hidden from sight, probably a group of dancers passing by.  "Us girls we are so magical<br/>Soft skin, red lips, so kissable<br/>Hard to resist so touchable<br/>Too good to deny it<br/>Ain't no big deal, it's innocent." The crowd then filtered out a little bit and I heard a few gasps. Next thing I knew, I could see Cindy and Aurora under the flashing lights, kissing lightly, then continuing to dance. "I kissed a girl and I liked it<br/>The taste of her cherry chapstick<br/>I kissed a girl just to try it<br/>I hope my boyfriend don't mind it."</p><p>My jaw dropped. "Dude, did you see that?" Henry asked from beside me, hitting my arm. "That wasn't just me?"</p><p>I shook my head slowly, my eyes glued to the two blondes. "No, I saw that. Um, Eric, we'll be right back."</p><p>I put my drink down and Henry and I headed into the crowd together, pushing through pulsing dancers. We reached our girlfriends and I said to them over the music, "Hey, could we talk to you guys?"</p><p>Both of their smiles fell and they glanced at each other before nodding. I helped Aurora through the people and we walked over to the bleachers. They sat down, looking concerned.</p><p>"What just happened?" Henry asked. He looked hurt, and I felt bad for him. I knew he loved Ella just as much as I loved Rory, and I was beyond in pain.</p><p>Cindy looked down, fiddling with her gloves. "We...Henry..." she stammered, tears welling in her eyes.</p><p>Aurora put a hand on her shoulder. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to. It was just in the moment, that song was a little inspiring. We promise, Philip, Henry, that was the first and last time." She looked at me with such sincerity. I could tell she was telling the truth. There was nothing between them, just pulsing music and some makeup.</p><p>I smiled and nodded, then looked at Henry, who sniffed. He looked at me, and I gave him an encouraging look. Henry hurriedly wiped at his eye and smiled at his girlfriend. "Okay. Okay, Ella."</p><p>Cindy stood up and hugged him, kissing his lips. She then dragged him onto the dance floor to dance around to an upbeat song. It was clear they were madly in love still. I grinned at them as I sat down next to Aurora. She looked guilty, staring down at her hands. "I am sorry, Philip. I didn't mean it."</p><p>I gently put my fingertips on her jaw and kissed her softly. "I believe you. I love you," I whispered. </p><p>"I love you too." We sat there for most of the night, holding hands and watching everyone dance the night away. </p><p> </p><p>MULAN</p><p>I took a breath and straightened my blazer. I simply was wearing a black suit over a white dress shirt, with my short hair down. I clutched the daisy chain in my hand as the door opened.</p><p>Giselle stood in the doorframe, and the moment I saw her, she took my breath away. She had already shown me her dress out of giddy excitement, but in person it looked even better. She was stunning in a pink dress that was covered with live flowers, and a large flower crown rested on her braided ginger hair. "Hi, Mulan!" she said with a grin, and she hugged me tight.</p><p>"You look amazing," I breathed out, still in shock. She blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.</p><p>"Thank you. You do too. You look very handsome," she said genuinely, looking up at me.</p><p>I blushed. That word felt incredible. "Thanks," I said quietly, and then I held up the daisy necklace I had attempted at making. It was sloppy, and the flowers were already dying. "Um, I tried to make this for you. It's not very good, you don't have to wear it -"</p><p>Giselle gasped and beamed at me, taking it in her small hands. "Thank you! It's so pretty!" She went up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek before putting it around her neck. "If you want, one day I can teach you how to make flower crowns," she giggled.</p><p>I smiled and nodded. "Oh, that reminds me!" She disappeared into her room for a second before reemerging with another flower crown in her hands. "I made this for you. You don't have to wear it since it's not very masculine, but I just wanted to."</p><p>I smiled and took it from her, gently putting it on my head. "I love it."</p><p>Giselle grinned and reached up to it, plucking one yellow flower and then tucking it into my breast pocket. "There," she said, satisfied.</p><p>I grinned. My heart wouldn't stop melting at her smile. Every time her blue eyes looked up at me, I couldn't help but stare right back and get lost in them.</p><p>"You ready to go?" I asked, holding out my hand to her. Giselle nodded and took it, and we set off down the hall as she talked about what we were going to do once we got to the dance.</p><p>It was still raining outside as we walked into school. I held an umbrella for both of us, but Giselle didn't particularly need it, and she was adorably soaked with water by the time we arrived.</p><p>After showing Judy the tickets I had bought, Giselle pulled me inside the gym. She first headed to the voting booths, and afterwards to the spot to take pictures. In front of the silver sheet and fairy lights, Giselle pulled me into a hug and beamed for the camera. We switched positions. In one of them, I kissed her cheek. We made silly faces in another, and she caught me by surprise in the last one by pulling me into a kiss. I blushed and continued to kiss her back, taking her waist even though it was long after the camera had snapped.</p><p>Filled with her infectious energy, Giselle took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. We both danced together, grinning. Songs like "Strangers Like Me," "Wrecking Ball," "no tears left to cry," and "Classic" all played lightheartedly until the song "Thinking Out Loud" began to play.</p><p>I looked over to Giselle, who was smiling. She still looked perfect after dancing for almost forty minutes. Her flower crown was still sitting atop her perfect hair and her eyes were as bright as ever. She was like a goddess.</p><p>I slowly stepped towards her and nervously, carefully placed my hands on her small waist. Her pink cheeks lifted into a smile and she reached to put hers on my shoulders. We swayed back and forth to the music, and I felt like I was going to lose myself in her eyes, her beautiful face. "And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways<br/>Maybe just the touch of a hand<br/>Oh me I fall in love with you every single day<br/>And I just wanna tell you I am."</p><p>I cleared my throat. I still blushed whenever I was around her. "Giselle, I just wanted to say..." I started, but I lost my breath as she looked up at me expectantly. "I just wanted to say that you are amazing, and beautiful, and the kindest person I've ever met. And I really like you."</p><p>Giselle smiled and moved her hand to slowly brush a piece of my hair behind my ear. She then rose up on her toes and placed her lips to mine. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling. This was the most incredible I've felt in my entire life.</p><p>"Take me into your loving arms<br/>Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars<br/>Place your head on my beating heart<br/>I'm thinking out loud<br/>That maybe we found love right where we are."</p><p>She slowly drew back and stared up at me through her eyelashes. She bit her lip in a grin. She opened her mouth to say something. "I think I love you," she stated confidently.</p><p>My heart leapt. It felt like fireworks were going off around us, and my chest felt every one of the pounds, my brain marveling at her. I smiled and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to me and kissing her fiercely, causing her to laugh and smile into my lips.</p><p>Her soft hands held my face. "I love you too," I told her in a whisper. I could barely breathe. That was the first time I had ever said that like this. And I meant it.</p><p>"Oh maybe we found love right where we are<br/>And we found love right where we are."</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello everyone! it's winter formal time!! yayayayyyyyyyy!!!! this is just part 1, i think i will split it into 2 parts because there is so. much. happening.</p><p>so, let's give you the summary, shall we? alice and peter have apologized to wendy and they are back together again, but peter has ended his lifelong friendship with tinkerbell. how do you think she'll take this? despite their talk, elsa and jack are still seeming a bit rocky. she got overwhelmed, and her powers worked! how did that happen on campus? how will she ever be able to control them? anya and dmitri are going well, and now ariel and eric have sorted out their problems. eric confessed to helping out vanessa, but he also explained his reasoning. rapunzel and flynn had a moment, but will it lead to something more? there is already something happening between flynn and nala... philip and henry caught their girlfriends kissing, but they were convinced that it was innocent. will they find out that there might be something more there? will the girls break it off, or continue fooling around? finally, mulan and giselle have dropped the l bomb! this is not a drill! sorry i'm in love with gislan</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Have you ever been to a school dance? If so, did you enjoy it?</p><p>My Answer: no, haha. i've been "too cool" for school dances, aka i have no one to go with. but i am definitely going to a prom.</p>
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<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Chapter 40</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Winter Formal: Part 2</p><p>MOANA</p><p>I watched as Ariel seemed to have a pretty serious conversation with Eric, and I made sure that she didn't need me there. But she seemed to be staying strong, smiling at some points. I sighed and backed up against the wall alone. The lights dimmed and the first slow dance song of the night came on, "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele. I could feel awkwardness and horniness radiating through the room at the same time.</p><p>I watched sadly as Ariel and Eric looked around, and Eric offered her his hand before she accepted and was led onto the dance floor. She put her hands around his neck and his were placed respectfully on her waist. I averted my eyes. I wanted to cry. I felt like I was going to be alone forever. "When the evening shadows and the stars appear<br/>And there is no one there to dry your tears<br/>Oh, I hold you for a million years<br/>To make you feel my love."</p><p>I mean, why couldn't Ariel see how I felt? I'd been unable to escape this torment from the moment I met her. I had been immediately captured by her bright eyes and bubbly personality, her hair and love for odd accessories. Whenever she touched me or even looked at me, I blushed and got shivers down my spine.</p><p>And then pain would course through me. The pain of knowing that she'd never like me like that. The pain of knowing she'd only ever see me as a friend, and if I were to confess my feelings, it might ruin our whole relationship. My only solution was to remain in the dark, alone. I had to get over her. I just didn't know how. <br/>I was in love. I was in love for the first time in my life, and I couldn't do anything about it.</p><p>"I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue<br/>And I'd go crawling down the avenue<br/>No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do<br/>To make you feel my love."</p><p>I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away. I wish I could make Ariel feel the love I had for her. I could do so much for her. I felt like in just a few months, I had gotten to know her unlike anyone else. I just wanted her to love me back. But it would never happen. "I could make you happy, make your dreams come true<br/>There's nothing that I wouldn't do<br/>Go to the ends of this Earth for you<br/>To make you feel my love, oh yes<br/>To make you feel my love." Despite my efforts to push my sorrow aside, I felt a tear fall down my cheek. As the song ended, I quickly picked up my dress and made my way to the bathroom, quietly pushing through others who were watching the slow dance alone.</p><p>I entered the bathroom, my chin quivering. I went into an empty stall and leaned up against the wall, finally releasing a sob. Tears flowed down my cheeks, and I all I could picture is Ariel, in love with Eric and leaving me behind. I would be alone forever. I kept crying, desperately taking some toilet paper to dab at my cheeks. I had probably ruined my makeup, but it didn't matter. I might as well go home anyway. What I wouldn't give to be actually home right now. If I had never come to this school and stayed on my island, I never would have fallen for Ariel. My heart would have never felt this anguish.</p><p>I heard someone knock on the stall door. I sniffed, wiping at my nose as I hurriedly called, "In a minute!" I grabbed a few more pieces of toilet paper.</p><p>"Who is this? Are you okay?" the girl asked, and I took a breath before slowly opening the door. It was Tinkerbell.</p><p>"Moana!" she said in surprise. Her eyes traveled over my face. "Are you all right?"</p><p>I walked out of the stall, and thankfully the rest of the bathroom was empty. "Yeah, fine. It's just that the only person I have ever loved doesn't know and will never love me back. But I'm okay."</p><p>Tink followed suit and leaned up against the sink counter, staring at the tiled floor. "Yeah. I'm kind of in the same situation."</p><p>I glanced over at her. "Really?"</p><p>She nodded, her blonde bangs falling out of their place. "Peter. I've practically been in love with him my entire life, but he never realized. I know he could never love me back. I have to accept it. But I just don't want to."</p><p>I sighed and looked back at the floor. "I'm sorry. That sucks."</p><p>She nodded. "Yeah. You're talking about Ariel, aren't you?"</p><p>My head snapped up. She was smirking a little bit, but tears lined her eyes still. "How did you know?" I asked her.</p><p>Tink rolled her eyes. "The way you look at her when she doesn't know...it's how Peter looks at Wendy. I know love when I see it."</p><p>I smiled a bit and sat on the counter. "Yeah. Yeah, it's Ariel. But she likes Eric."</p><p>We both sighed together, staring at the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small tear roll down Tink's cheek. She laughed and looked up at me eventually. "We're pretty pathetic, huh?"</p><p>I smiled. "Yeah, I guess we are. I was just going to go home."</p><p>She frowned. "Why?"</p><p>I chuckled and twisted to look at myself in the mirror. The rubbing of my eyes had totally messed up my mascara, and my eyes looked puffy and red. "I look like a mess anyway," I said, turning back to her, but she was digging through her handbag.</p><p>"And that's why I brought makeup wipes." She handed them to me, and I laughed, taking them. "Pity party is over. Let's go back out there, they'll announce the Ice Royalty soon."</p><p>I nodded and began cleaning myself up, taking some deep breaths. "How do I look?" I finally asked Tink, brushing off my dress.</p><p>She smirked. "Hot."</p><p>I laughed. "You do too."</p><p>"You ready?" Tink asked, offering me her arm.</p><p>I nodded and braced myself. "Ready." I laced my arm through hers and we walked out of the bathroom together. </p><p> </p><p>SNOW</p><p>As the finishing touch, I applied my signature bright red lipstick. I was wearing a white, knee length dress that was scattered with red rose petals. White mesh covered my collarbone and arms, and the skirt part puffing out like a fifties dress. I stepped back to check my curled hair in the mirror, and looked myself up and down. I was a bit chubby, but I was okay with it. It almost made me cute, with round rosy cheeks and still a small-ish waist.</p><p>"You look great, Snow!" Cindy said as she passed by, applying some lip gloss.</p><p>I smiled. "Thank you. You do too, Ella." We both were wearing fifties-like dresses.</p><p>There was a knock on the door. "They're here!" I squealed, clapping and putting my lipstick into my purse. I hurried over to the door and opened it.</p><p>Behind it stood Philip, Florian, and Cindy. "Florian!" I said, and I leapt into his arms.</p><p>"Hi!" he replied, hugging me back. When we let go, he said, "I have this for you." He held out a package which held a red rose.</p><p>I smiled and opened it. It was a beautiful red rose corsage that perfectly matched my dress. "It's perfect," I told him, and slipped it on. Florian smiled and I kissed him. "Oops!" I said, giggling. "You have some..." My lipstick had rubbed off a little bit onto his lips, staining them red. I smiled as I ran my finger over them.</p><p>"I don't care," Florian said with a smile, and he grabbed my waist again and swept me into another kiss. "You look beautiful tonight."</p><p>I smiled. "Thank you."</p><p>My friends greeted their boyfriends similarly, and then Henry asked, "Everyone ready to go?"</p><p>We nodded and Florian took my hand, and we walked down the hall slowly, helping Aurora with her crutches. But when we got to the lobby, we realized that it was still raining heavily. We all looked at each other, and Henry pulled out his umbrella. Then, all of a sudden, Florian swept me off my feet and was carrying me bridal style. "Florian!" I cried, laughing.</p><p>"Hold this," Florian ordered with a grin, handing me the umbrella. I took it, and Florian said, "Ready?"</p><p>I nodded, and he walked out of the door with my friends behind us. I opened up the umbrella and shielded our heads, laughing as Florian splashed through the puddles towards the school's campus. Florian was smiling and I held the umbrella as best I could, but we got our hair a little wet. I didn't really care, though, because I was already having a wonderful time with the love of my life.</p><p>We finally arrived at the gymnasium and the rain began to lighten up. Florian gently set me down and we greeted Belle at the ticket booth, giving her our tickets and walking into the gym. "Ooh, let's go vote!" I said excitedly, taking Florian's arm and leading him towards the voting station. I waved to him and went to one of the polling booths, taking a look at the nominees for Ice Royalty. Hercules Olympus, Eric Capsian, Naveen Maldonia, and Edward Lockhart were going for Ice King. I checked the box for Edward, I knew him best since he was on the cheerleading team with me.</p><p>Then I looked at the Ice Queen section, which listed Vanessa Sea, Megara Creon, Elsa Arendelle, and Kuzco Pepikrankenitz. I giggled and thought for a second before checking off the box for Meg. I didn't know her very well, but Vidia had been going around convincing people to vote for her her. It seemed like she could use the experience. I folded up the paper and slipped it into the box, then exited and rejoined Florian.</p><p>We joined hands, and I looked around at the decorated room. There were blue and white lights flashing through the room. There were fake icicles and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and I knew that they were planning on making it fake snow near the end of the night. The stage had an arch of blue and white balloons at the back, and the whole place practically looked like a magical winter wonderland. "It looks great!" I said, smiling and looking around. "I think it's better than last time."</p><p>Florian said, "Yeah, we did a really good job." He was part of the Planning Committee which had decorated the whole place. I kissed him on the cheek.</p><p>We talked to a few of our friends for a while, and soon the dance floor began to fill up more as it became late and people began to arrive. Florian and I made our way onto the dance floor, and I giggled the whole time with him until the first slow song came on. It was "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin. Florian immediately looked at me and drew me close into his arms and I smiled, leaning into him.</p><p>"You're in my arms<br/>And all the world is calm<br/>The music playing on for only two<br/>So close together<br/>And when I'm with you<br/>So close to feeling alive."</p><p>The lights grew darker and calm disco lights began to revolve around us. I looked into Florian's beautiful brown eyes, feeling so overcome with love and adoration I felt like I was going to explode. I leaned my head on his chest.</p><p>The grand instrumental crescendo started. Florian took my hand in his and spun me out, causing me to giggle. He brought me back in and put his hands firmly on my waist, lifting me up and spinning around. I smiled and he laughed too, bringing me down and twirling me around his finger. The lyrics started again, and we continued waltzing around, and I let Florian lead me around the dance floor. "Let's go on dreaming<br/>For we know we are<br/>So close, so close<br/>And still so far." The music softened down and I was back in his embrace, smiling and wrapping my arms around his neck. I smiled up at him and kissed him gently. He cupped my cheeks and I popped one of my feet up. Everything was magical when I was with him.</p><p> </p><p>LOTTIE</p><p>"Oh, this is so excitin'!" I squealed, bouncing in my heels. "Tia, you did tell your mama thank you again, right? This is the most beautiful dress I ever did lay my eyes on!"</p><p>I twirled around. Tiana's mom Eudora has always sewn my clothes special for me, but this one took the cake. I felt like a princess. Of course, the entirety of it was pink. Puffy sleeves determined my personal space bubble was about a 4 foot radius. A big bow was tied around my waist, giving way to the magnificent skirt. It was huge, sparkly, pink, and perfect. I had barely been able to get out of my door because of it.</p><p>"I did," Tiana said with a congested chuckle.</p><p>"Oh, honey, you sound awful," I told her, cupping her cheek with a gloved hand.</p><p>"I'm fine, Lottie. I can't miss the Winter Formal," she said with determination. "Though...would you mind announcin' the Ice King and Queen for me?"</p><p>My face brightened twenty times more. "Would I? Oh of course, suga! I would be beyond honored! It's a good thing Vanessa wouldn't let me be nominated this year, I guess." My smile fell a bit. I had tried to campaign in secret, but Vanessa had found out and lectured me on how she could be the only Queen Bee of the school, blah blah blah. And then she dumped her enchilada on my favorite lace top! It took all inside of me not to slap her, but that would definitely blow my cover.</p><p>"I'm sorry 'bout that, Lottie," Tiana said solemnly, placing her hand on my shoulder puff. "You can always bail out of this if you want."</p><p>I looked up at her gratefully, but shook my head. "No, that's okay, Tia. I think it is really helping. I've saved a lot of messes from going down; yesterday she was planning on destroying Ariel's shoes, but I warned her in time. I am doin' good, so if that means I have to suffer while others don't, I'll stay."</p><p>Tiana smiled. "You're doin' good, Lottie. I'm proud of you."</p><p>"Thanks," I said. "And you, Tia, you look magnificent!"</p><p>I stepped back to admire her. I had put her in a long blue dress with long gloves and a tiara, and she looked absolutely stunning. Tia blushed. "Thanks, Lottie. Thanks to you."</p><p>I waved my hand in dismissal. "Ah, it's nothin', honey. Hey, is my makeup okay?"</p><p>Tia chuckled. "Yes."</p><p>I held out my elbow to her. "Let's go get em."</p><p>We stepped into the gymnasium, and I had to say, the decorations we had put up were fabulous. The room was filled with fake winter and snow things. I had suggested we had Elsa or Jack make real ones, but that was shot down real quick. "I've gotta go talk to Minnie, but I'll see you later, Lottie?" Tiana said, pointing to the secretary.</p><p>I nodded, grinning and waving at her. I was about to walk over to the voting booth, when I was rudely intercepted. Vanessa stood in front of me, her hands on her hips and Drizella and Anastasia flanking her. She looked my fantastic dress up and down with disgust. She did look beautiful, in a long lavender dress. "Did you convince Tiana? You're going to announce the Ice Royalty?" Vanessa demanded, scowling at me. It was more like her permanent face - she might want to consider botox later on, she was going to get frown lines.</p><p>I nodded reluctantly, the pit in my stomach growing bigger. "Yeah, I am."</p><p>She nodded in approval, then stepped toward me in her not-so-classy height heel. "Whatever name it says in that envelope, you make sure Eric and I are the Ice King and Queen, understand?"</p><p>I nodded again, not meeting her eyes. She stood there for a second, then backed up. "Come on, girls. Let's go find Eric." She stalked away, her hips swinging. I exhaled in relief. Well, might as well not vote. It wouldn't matter anyway, if I was doing all the rigging of the system.</p><p>And now I had betrayed Tiana too.</p><p>•••</p><p>By the middle of the night, I had said hello to all of my friends, danced a bit, and ate too much for comfort when I leaned against the wall, as much as my dress would allow. I fanned my face, hoping that my makeup wasn't being sweated off. I pulled out my trusty powder puff and dashed it across my nose.</p><p>That's when I spotted him. A whole hunk of mysterious, bad boy muscle that was standing in the shadows, brooding sexily. I sighed and quickly whipped out my mirror, meticulously placing a beauty mark on my cheek. I stowed it away and pulled up the top of my dress, putting my game face on. Then I floated over to him, sucking in my stomach as much as possible.</p><p>I stationed myself right next to him and methodically cleared my throat. He glanced down at me, and I met his gaze. My face split into my winning grin. "Adam!" I exclaimed. "I didn't see you there, hi!"</p><p>He gave me a small, pained smile. "Hi, Charlotte."</p><p>"You enjoyin' the night?" I asked him, scooting closer. His cologne smelled amazing.</p><p>He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Not really."</p><p>My face fell. "Aw, that's too bad. Are you alone?"</p><p>He was twitching his finger. Maybe that meant he was nervous! Did he have a crush on me? "Yes."</p><p>I sighed dramatically, following his eyes to the rest of the dancing students. "Me too. I just feel so lonely all of the time. All of my girl friends have boyfriends and I'm just here, single and absolutely ready to mingle, ya know?"</p><p>He looked down at me, his expression stony as ever. But I swore I saw a glimpse of adoration in his lovely blue eyes. I melted just at the thought.</p><p>He didn't answer, so I filled the silent space. "So, who d'ya think is goin' to win Ice Royalty?" I asked.</p><p>"Vanessa already told me the plan. So it'll be her and Eric, if you don't mess it up," he said in his deep voice. It sounded a little threatening.</p><p>I gulped and then nodded. "Right."</p><p>I rocked back and forth on my toes, not knowing what to say next. Adam didn't seem very inclined to help either.</p><p>But then, I heard the fast paced music slow down, the lights changing. I immediately recognized it - the piano, the flute, the strings. My face lit up and I looked at Adam, who was doing his best to avert his eyes from me. "I love this song," I told him excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Adam...would you like to dance with me? Just this once. As two single people, in need of a friend."</p><p>His eyes shifted to me, and my chest filled with hope. The lyrics began, and I grew anxious as the dance floor filled up. "Tale as old as time<br/>True as it can be."</p><p>"Please?" I asked Adam once more, pleading to him with my hands folded.</p><p>He groaned and held his hand out to me. I squealed a little bit and took it eagerly, almost pulling him to the center of the room. I put my hands on his shoulders, barely tall enough to reach. We began swaying back and forth, but Adam didn't meet my eyes.</p><p>"You're a fantastic dancer," I told him. It was true. He was leading quite well, graceful on his big feet. "You probably have a ballroom in your house, and you practice, right?" I joked, smiling.</p><p>Adam didn't return it. "I do have a ballroom, but I don't often practice. I don't have anyone to do it with."</p><p>My jaw dropped. "Well, hell, I'll practice with you! Your own ballroom?" He nodded.<br/>"Tale as old as time<br/>Song as old as rhyme<br/>Beauty and the beast." I smiled and looked up at him. "It's kind of like I'm beauty and you're the beast, huh?" I pointed out, laughing. But his face still looked angry and I gasped. "Not because you're ugly! No, no, that's not what I meant, I mean you're like one of the hottest guys I have ever laid eyes on! It's just because your last name is Beast. You can be beauty if you want, I don't mind -"</p><p>Then, I thought I heard a low chuckle. My eyes snapped up, and I saw something extraordinary: Adam was smiling down at me, and he was laughing!</p><p>I began to laugh along with him, making sure I didn't snort accidentally. After it passed, I gazed up at him. He looked even better when he smiled. The song neared its end, and I cautiously laid my head on his strong chest.</p><p>And he didn't stop me. </p><p> </p><p>JASMINE</p><p>I walked into the gym with confidence, my long dress trailing behind me. A few people's heads turned, and I smiled as I heard a few whispers. I walked over to the voting station, which was run by Jane. My eyes traveled over the nominees. For Ice King, Hercules, Eric, Naveen, and Edward were in the running. I decided to vote for Hercules, since I knew he was a friend of Aladdin's and probably the nicest.</p><p>Ice Queen, on the other hand, was more complicated. The nominees were Vanessa, who I was not going to choose, but then Megara, which I thought was a little weird, Elsa, and Kuzco, which I didn't think was allowed. I knew I had to support one of my best friends, so I ticked the box for Elsa and submitted my votes.</p><p>Then I entered the dance. Even more people looked at me, and I didn't blame them. I did look really good. My dress had been imported by my father from Agrabah. It had a golden long sleeved top and the skirt was a deep pink. It also had a pink train attached to it, which was decorated with meticulous gold and purple details. I had added one of my favorite pink headwraps, and of course had put on my fancy jewelry.</p><p>I spotted Aladdin weaving through some people toward me, and I smiled at the awe in his eyes. He finally got through the crowd, and, wordless, he kissed me passionately. My eyes widened in surprise, but then I put my hands in his thick black hair, smiling.</p><p>He finally broke it off and breathed, "You look amazing."</p><p>"Thank you," I responded, fixing the headscarf.</p><p>"Um, do you want something to eat?" he asked, taking my hand and leading me to the snack table.</p><p>"Please! I'm starving." I filled a plate full of food as Aladdin got me a drink. We stood by the wall for a while, talking and watching as the students got warmed up to the dance floor. Not everyone was here yet, and the DJ wasn't playing all the good songs before it filled up more.</p><p>I suddenly heard the piano beginning to one of my favorite songs. "Oh, I love this song!" I exclaimed to Aladdin, and he grinned.</p><p>"Me too," he said, and took my hand, leading me closer to the dance floor. Then, with dramatic movements, Aladdin began to sing along to the lyrics. "I can open your eyes<br/>Take you wonder by wonder<br/>Over sideways and under<br/>On a magic carpet ride!"</p><p>I giggled as he waved his hand in front of my eyes. "Karaoke," I said sarcastically. "Classic."</p><p>He nodded, grinning. "And you'd better sing too."</p><p>I gasped. "On such short notice? I haven't even warmed up!" I laughed and then began jokingly clearing my throat, making various sounds that sounded ridiculous. A few people stared, but it just made me laugh more.</p><p>"Ready?" Aladdin said right before my cue.</p><p>I took his other hand and began singing timidly, so only he could hear me. "A whole new world<br/>A dazzling place I never knew<br/>But when I'm way up here<br/>It's crystal clear<br/>That now I'm in a whole new world with you!" He began to spin with me and I laughed. I continued the lyrics, but at one point I forgot the words.</p><p>"I'm like a shooting star," Aladdin stage-whispered to me, and I grinned and continued, laughing the whole time as he took me through an exaggerated ballet routine. <br/>"A thrilling chase<br/>A wondrous place<br/>For you and me," we sang together, and ended the song with his hands on my waist, mine around his neck. Our faces were inches from each others, and he went in for a kiss, lifting me up a little bit. I smiled and heard a few people clap around us. I turned and Aladdin drew us into a bow.</p><p>This truly was a magical night. </p><p> </p><p>MILO</p><p>I gasped the moment Esmeralda stepped out of the elevator and pushed up my glasses. She looked beautiful. A green gown with a tight corset bodice, then a high-low cut that trailed behind her. She had worn her thick black hair down, decorating her forehead with a gold band and an emerald. It perfectly matched her striking eyes.</p><p>She smirked as she walked towards me. "Like what you see?" she asked.</p><p>"You - you look beautiful," I stammered. I pushed up my glasses again. She smiled, and I suddenly remembered what I had brought her. "This is for you. Sorry it doesn't match your dress -" I said quickly, holding up the red rose corsage I had bought.</p><p>Her eyes lit up, flicking to my face. "Thank you, Milo. It's perfect." I blushed as she kissed me and then I helped her attach it to her wrist. I held out my elbow to her and she gracefully took it, and I led her to the dance, our chins held high.</p><p>We walked into the gym, slightly earlier than everyone else who wanted to make a late entrance. I had successfully kept Esmeralda's long skirt dry on the walk here as she held an umbrella and I held her gathered train in my arms.</p><p>However, the moment we got there, a tall and muscular blonde guy sauntered up to Esmeralda. "Hey, Esme. You look fantastic," he said with a wink, looking her up and down.</p><p>She sighed and rolled her eyes. I cleared my throat. The guy looked down at me in disgust, clearly sizing me up in my vintage, 1930s suit. It was my grandpa's. "Who is this?" he asked Esmeralda.</p><p>"Oh, Phoebus, this is my date, Milo. Milo, this is Phoebus," Esmeralda introduced. I tipped my head slightly at him, making my glasses fall down my nose again. I really needed new ones. Phoebus almost scoffed at me, and I squinted at him. At least I could tell Esmeralda was definitely not into him.</p><p>But we walked further into the gym, Phoebus on our tail, when another guy came hurrying up to Esmeralda. At least he wasn't as dashing as Phoebus. "Oh, hi Quasi!" she greeted happily, leaning down to give the hunchback (is that offensive? Probably. I'll look it up when I get back to my dorm. Or maybe after Esmeralda leaves my dorm.).</p><p>After their hug, Quasimodo Frollo looked up at me with a smile. "Hi, you're Milo, right?" he asked kindly, holding out his hand.</p><p>I nodded, taking it. "Yes, that's me. And you're the magician," I said, remembering their duo act from the talent show.</p><p>Quasi smiled, and Esmeralda glanced up when the song "Strangers Like Me" came on. She glanced at me with an apologetic look. Here it comes. "I promised Quasi a dance, and this seems like the perfect time...Do you mind?" she asked.</p><p>"No, no, of course not!" I said, shaking my hand.</p><p>Esmeralda grinned at me and took Quasi's hand, leading him onto the dance floor. Phoebus decided to tag along, and so I slowly walked to lean on the wall, picking up a cupcake along the way.</p><p>I watched as Esmeralda made pleasant conversation with Phoebus, and I felt something spike through me. Was this...jealousy? I mean, Esmeralda and I technically weren't a thing. We often just had recurring physical connections. I sighed and bit into the cupcake.</p><p>"So, you single too?" someone asked me, startling me. I looked around quickly, to see a girl with white hair and striking tanned skin. She had a surprising accent I couldn't place.</p><p>"Oh, uh, no. My date is just talking to some...friends," I responded, glancing over to Esmeralda. She was now dancing with Quasimodo.</p><p>I looked back at this new girl, squinting at her. "I can't quite remember your name..." I said, pointing at her vaguely.</p><p>She smiled. "Kidagakash Nedakh."</p><p>I widened my eyes. "Ki-ki-kidamashnaga...do you have a nickname?"</p><p>She chuckled. "Kida. And I usually go by they or them pronouns, as well."</p><p>I nodded and then cleared my throat. "Milo Thatch. Male. Simpler." I held out my hand, and they smiled and shook it.</p><p>"So," Kida said, turning to watch Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus. The way Esmeralda moved was eye catching. She knew exactly how to work with the music, how to move without even thinking about it. And she looked amazing while doing it. "Esmeralda is your date? Or is it Quasi or Phoebus?"</p><p>I gaped, but quickly recomposed myself. "No, no, it's Esmeralda. I'm straight...or whatever sexuality is attracted to women and thems."</p><p>I almost gasped at myself, that came out smoother than I thought. I hadn't really meant to say it though. Kida was making me sweat.</p><p>Kida giggled too, giving me a look afterward that made me slightly uncomfortable. It felt like I was one of my own experiments, being studied. They then turned to Esmeralda again. "So, she is your girlfriend?" they asked, glancing at me with interest.</p><p>I took a breath. "I'm not exactly sure, to be completely honest. It's a little bit complicated."</p><p>They nodded in understanding, and we stayed there in silence for a while. I got fidgety, trying to keep up the conversation. Kida was fascinating. They were like a person I had never seen before. They looked exotic. Their white hair was shaven on one side, and for the dance it had been braided intricately, with addings of beads and other accessories. Not to mention their crystal necklace, or their blue face tattoos. They were almost...familiar to me.</p><p>"So why are you talking to me anyway?" I, of course, decided to ask the stupidest sounding question to the most interesting sounding person. But they smiled at me.</p><p>"All my friends essentially abandoned me, they all have dates. And you looked lonely," they explained.</p><p>I chuckled, snapping my fingers. "Yep, that's me. Just a guy, waiting for his girl-date-friend girl who is dancing with two other guys who want to get in her pants..." I trailed off from that statement, and sighed. Then I looked over at Kida. "You know, if you're single and ready to mingle, Quasimodo and Phoebus are both very available."</p><p>Kida laughed, and then glanced at me, looking me up and down with a smirk. "Oh, I don't know. I'm more into a scrawny, intellectual type guy."</p><p>My jaw dropped. Did they just...?</p><p>I felt myself blushing and I laughed nervously, pulling my collar away from my neck. "Is it hot in here? I mean, man, I know it's December -"</p><p>"Oh hey Kida!" Esmeralda said, waving as she walked up to us. I exhaled with relief. Esmerala hadn't even broken a sweat out there, and I was here perspiring buckets while talking to a fascinating beautiful person who was flirting with me. Kida smiled at Esme and quietly excused themselves, giving me one last piercing look. Oh, did I mention their eyes were strikingly blue?</p><p>"Care to dance, Mr. Thatch?" Esmeralda asked me, forcing me to turn my head away from Kida. The gym's lights had gone down and now a painfully slow and romantic song was playing. I gulped. <br/>"Um, I think I'd like to leave the dancing up to you -" I tried, nervously grinning at her.</p><p>She gave me a look - jeez, her eyes were bright too, but green - and I hesitantly put my hand in hers. Smiling, she whipped me onto the dance floor, causing me to yelp.</p><p>I faced her. "Okay, I know it might come as a surprise to you, but I've never done this before," I said, laughing and not having any clue of what to do with my hands.</p><p>She smiled. Every time she did, I felt amazing. It was kind of hard to make Esmeralda Gypse smile a lot. "Here. Step on my feet."</p><p>I looked up at her. "What? No, thank you, I do not want to break your dancer feet."</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "Please. I've taken five years of pointe, and I'm pretty sure my feet can handle your weight of sixty pounds."</p><p>I almost snorted. "Okay, okay."</p><p>She took my hands and guided me to carefully put my dress shoes on top of her green shoes, making me cringe. I tried not to put my full weight on her, but she didn't seem affected. Esmeralda had her arm around my torso and mine was behind her back, as if I was the girl. I guess I technically was in this situation.</p><p>I soon recognized the singer of this song was Michael Jackson. "Great," I said, trying not to breathe in her face. We were very close together. "A pedophile. How romantic."</p><p>She chuckled. "Oh, come on. Loosen up, Milo." She continued to spin around, making me a little queasy. I was very prone to motion sickness.</p><p>We continued to dance slowly, but somehow I still managed to make it extremely clumsy. And as I was looking at Esmeralda's green eyes, I couldn't help but replay my conversation with Kida in my head. And I could tell Esmeralda was far away too. Was she thinking about Quasimodo or Phoebus? Or someone else?</p><p>I could tell that we weren't in love. And I didn't know if we ever would be. But I did like her more than average. And our times we had had together were fantastic, and I knew both of us didn't want to give that up. But something kept a wall in between us. I didn't know what would happen between me, a nerdy, thin history enthusiast and Esmeralda Gypse, an enchanting, seductive girl who I couldn't seem keep my eyes off of. And I couldn't help but wonder if anything would happen with this new, strange person who went by them. </p><p> </p><p>EDWARD</p><p>I smirked at myself in the mirror, winking. I was wearing my best black suit, but had added a rainbow bowtie and pocket square. I had perfectly brushed and curled my brown hair, and added a dash of concealer on a pimple that decided to be kind enough to appear this morning.</p><p>To be honest, I was growing nervous. I checked my phone, and realized I had to pick Kuzco up in 5 minutes. I took one last look at my hair and then quickly walked to grab the roses I had picked out for him: 6 salmon colored roses. I hoped he wasn't an expert on rose meanings. I took a deep breath, tucking my phone and the tickets into my inside pocket. Then I opened my dorm door and set off for my date.</p><p>I puffed out my chest and knocked on Lilo's door. A short black haired girl opened it a crack, glancing up at me. She grinned and shut it quickly, making me lean back. Then I heard a voice shout, "He's here! Get ready!" I rolled my eyes, knowing I was in for a Kuzco-sized treat.</p><p>Suddenly, the door was flung wide open and the song "Let's Have a Kiki" began to blast.</p><p>At that moment, Kuzco appeared. My jaw dropped. Was I surprised? No. But he still managed to blow me away. He was clad in a low-necked rainbow gown and a long rainbow cape behind him. Of course, he had also done an elaborate makeup look. He stalked towards me, smirking as I continued to stare in shock.</p><p>When he approached me, I looked up at him with a smile. He was finally taller than me with those heels on. "Who's gayer now?" he asked, striking a pose and raising his arms.</p><p>I sighed, shaking my head slightly. "Fine. I surrender, Kuzco. You got me. Congratulations." I couldn't compete with him. I did feel a little ashamed, though. It was a silly contest but it almost felt like I wasn't good enough. I wasn't gay enough to be accepted as such.</p><p>I shook it off and held out the flowers to him. "For you," I said, dipping my head. When I looked back up at him, his eyes were wide and looking up to me. I blushed. I hoped he wasn't analyzing them.</p><p>But after a moment, he smiled and took them, bringing them to his nose. "Thank you, Edward. Hey, we match!" he said, happily pointing to my bow.</p><p>I smiled. "Yeah, we do. Wasn't even planned, can you imagine that?" I joked, and I glanced back at Lilo and her roommates, who were watching eagerly. I began to get uncomfortable, so I held my elbow out to my date. "Shall we?"</p><p>He took it, and I tried not to shiver at his touch. Even his nails were rainbow. We started to walk to the dance, and I helped Kuzco carry his cape so that it wouldn't drag through puddles.</p><p>We arrived and Kuzco took me to the photobooth, of course after making a spectacular entrance. "Let's see if there's a rainbow one," I said, half joking and shuffling through the paper accessories to use in the photos. Kuzco joined in, but we didn't find one.</p><p>"Well that's homophobic," he said, irritated, and I laughed. I grabbed his hand and took him in front of the camera anyway. He raised his cape and draped it around the two of us. In one, he wrapped his arms around my neck and hooked his knee around me, like we were salsa dancers. My heart was pounding like crazy. In another, he squished our faces together and simply smiled. I hoped he couldn't feel how warm my cheek was getting.</p><p>"Want to talk to your friends or something?" he suggested.</p><p>I froze, then chuckled nervously. "Oh, no, that's okay, they're all busy anyway," I lied. The truth was, I used to be friends with a lot of the jocks, but after I came out...they all left me. Someone had even trashed my locker and scratched the gay f-word onto it. I hadn't told anyone. I just put a sticker over it.</p><p>However, I did get to talk to my only remaining friend and ex-girlfriend, Giselle. She looked incredibly happy with Mulan, and I made sure to tell them that I was happy for them. Then, after talking to Kuzco's large amount of friends, we went onto the dance floor.</p><p>He got especially excited when "It's Raining Men" came on, so asked him if it was his favorite song. He scoffed and continued to dance. "No, of course not. It's 'Dancing Queen.' I'm a bitch for anything ABBA."</p><p>I smiled, getting an idea. We danced more. The DJ was pretty good; he played Whitney Houston, Queen, Lady Gaga, and some more popular bands. A new song started, and I quickly excused myself. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," I told Kuzco, slipping away.</p><p>But instead of heading for the toilet, I redirected myself to the DJ's booth. On the front, in cool winter letters was written "Frozone," which I guessed was his DJ name. I waved at him to get his attention, looking down at me. "Hey man, can I help you?" he asked in a friendly voice.</p><p>"Hi, I was wondering if you could play 'Dancing Queen?'" I asked, holding out a twenty dollar bill.</p><p>Frozone laughed and waved his hand at me, turning to his computer. "Aw, dude, I don't need no money. Would you like the ABBA version or the Mamma Mia version?"</p><p>My face split into a grin. "ABBA."</p><p>Frozone flashed me a thumbs up, and I smiled at him before making my way back to Kuzco. He was still going strong, now dancing to "Super Bass." I smiled at him and joined in, my stomach also dancing with butterflies. Kuzco mouthed the words to me, putting his hands on my shoulders and grinding on me a little bit.</p><p>Finally, the song ended, and the piano of the next song began. Kuzco's face lit up, and he gasped, jumping up and down. "Oh my god! You can dance! You can jive!" he yelled, singing along and pointing to me. I smiled at his enthusiasm. It caused something in me to spark, but I brushed it off. I danced with him, and at some point he was touching my chest and then grabbing my hands, forcing me to spin around with him. I giggled and he continued to sing along to the lyrics.</p><p>Then, as he danced, his ankle suddenly twisted in his gigantic heels. "Ah!" he cried, falling towards the floor. I dived forward, catching him by the waist. We ended up in a salsa dip, our eyes meeting. I stayed there, my arms securely around him as we stared at each other. Kuzco was breathing hard. His breath smelled minty. I, on the other hand, could barely breathe.</p><p>"Thanks," he said, smiling a bit.</p><p>I carefully pulled him back to his feet, making sure he was steady in his heels. "Do you want to take a break?" I asked him, looking at the shoes with mistrust.</p><p>"Of course not! I have to finish the song!" he cried. He held out his arms to me. "Just - I don't know, carry me or something."</p><p>I blushed. "Okay."  I stepped forward and swept him into a bridal position, with his hands around my neck.</p><p>"Yas!" he shouted, laughing. I grinned and began dancing with Kuzco in my arms, his rainbow cape trailing on the ground. "You are the dancing queen<br/>Young and sweet<br/>Only seventeen<br/>Dancing queen<br/>Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah<br/>You can dance<br/>You can jive<br/>Having the time of your life!" I smiled at Kuzco on those words, and for once, I truly believed them.</p><p>•••</p><p>After what felt like hours of dancing, Kuzco dragged me through the people to stand by the edge of the bleachers. Underneath them, some couple was making out. I smiled at Kuzco as he tiredly leaned up against the wall, yanking off his shoes. "Ugh, remind me never to wear heels again," he groaned.</p><p>I raised my eyebrows. "You really think you're going to do that?"</p><p>He grinned. "Yeah, you're right. You know me too well."</p><p>I walked over to stand next to him on the wall, and then we both slid down to sit on the floor, watching the gym pulse to the music. Kuzco laid his head on my shoulder. I took a breath to say something. "Thanks for coming with me. To the dance," I said, not looking over at him.</p><p>He lifted his head to look at me. "What was I going to do, say no? You asked me in front of the entire school."</p><p>I smirked. "Yes, I suppose."</p><p>There was a pause, and then Kuzco sighed, hugging his knees. "Plus, you're the only guy who has the balls to go out with me."</p><p>I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What? What do you mean?"</p><p>He sighed again, stretching his legs out. They were shaved. It took a few moments for him to think of a reply. "Are people scared of me?"</p><p>I was a little bit shocked, looking over at him. "What? Why would people be scared of you? I mean, you may be a little intimidating..."</p><p>Kuzco looked up at me. "I'm just so...gay."</p><p>I let out a laugh. "Well that's true."</p><p>"And I'm mean. I'm mean and selfish and I'm just a really bad person," he said angrily, his eyes hardening as he watched the students dance.</p><p>"No," I said, shifting my body towards him, "no, no you're not."</p><p>Kuzco scoffed, his earrings jangling as he shook his head. "Edward, you don't know me. I judge people. I make fun of them, I only care about myself."</p><p>"Kuzco, you -" I began, but we were interrupted.</p><p>"Well well well, if it isn't the faggiest of them all," a strong, deep voice chuckled, and Kuzco and I jumped to stand, immediately bristling at the attacker. Gaston appeared from the shadows of the bleachers, an annoyed looking Marie standing behind him.</p><p>"Gaston, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise. I knew he was back from the suspension, but I thought he wasn't allowed at the dance.</p><p>He laughed. "I'm back, and I'm ready to have some fun with you boys," he snarled, advancing towards us with his fists balled.</p><p>But behind me, I heard a snort. We both looked at Kuzco, who was trying to hold back a laugh. He grinned at me. "Sorry, that just sounded really gay," he said with a smirk, his eyes darting towards Gaston.</p><p>The huge man growled. "What did you just say?"</p><p>I turned back to him, smirking triumphantly and putting my hands on my hips. "He said, that sounded pretty gay. Do you have something to tell us, Gaston?"</p><p>His chiseled face quickly transformed into a menacing glower and he grit his teeth. It seemed like anger mode had switched on in his brain. Before I knew it, his broad hand flew up and smacked my cheek, hard.</p><p>I stumbled back as Kuzco grabbed my waist, my palm flying up to the stinging skin. I felt my eyes burning too, and through the tears I could see Gaston stomping towards me again.</p><p>"Back off!" Kuzco shouted, the rainbow outfit appearing through my blurred sight. "Don't you dare hit him! Do you wanna piece of me? Do you?"</p><p>I was shocked. I blinked my tears away, insistent on seeing what unfolded. Gaston was almost cowering away from Kuzco, who was still a head shorter than him. Then, I saw my date rip off one of his heels and chuck it at Gaston with all his might. It hit him in the bicep. "I will shove my gay foot so far up your ass that you choke to death!" Kuzco yelled, throwing his other shoe.</p><p>I watched as Gaston took the arm of a surprised Marie and grumpily stormed away, rubbing his arm.  Kuzco flipped his hair, turned around, and hurried back to me. I was so stunned that I almost forgot the pain of my cheek, until Kuzco ran to check on it.</p><p>"Are you okay?" he asked, examining it. I winced as he touched it.</p><p>"Yeah. But I guess my dreams of modeling are done," I said, trying to keep it lighthearted. But I wasn't really joking.</p><p>Kuzco smiled. "No they're not. You're still really hot."</p><p>I audibly gasped, taking my hand from my face to point at him. "You admitted it!" I cried gleefully.</p><p>Kuzco looked at me in confusion. "I never denied it."</p><p>I smiled at him. "You said I'm hot."</p><p>Kuzco took my arm, walking me to the bathroom. "Cause you are."</p><p>I felt myself blush.</p><p>When we got into the bathroom, Kuzco sat me on the counter. "Okay, so I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll just do what people do in movies," he said, looking around and then dampening a few paper towels. He gently pressed them to my cheek. The cold water felt unimaginably good — the heat of the slap immediately washed away, and I was also kind of distracted by Kuzco's face.</p><p>We stood there for a moment. He held the paper to my cheek, and I sat completely still, staring intensely at him as he returned the look. Finally, I broke the silence. I didn't want him to see me blushing. "And you said you weren't a good person," I chuckled, leaning back on my hands.</p><p>Kuzco shrugged it off. "I didn't like those shoes anyway. So ultimately it was for my own good."</p><p>"You did something good, Kuzco," I repeated. I needed him to believe it. I needed him to be good.</p><p>Kuzco shook his head and gave me a stern look. "I'm still a self obsessed brat."</p><p>I could tell he wasn't going to give this up, and finally sighed. "Okay," I gave in. "You're still a selfish brat."</p><p>Kuzco nodded. "Who has the greatest hair and the best skin and fashion sense of this school," he added quickly, a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Now that is highly debatable."</p><p>"No, it's true."</p><p>I laughed and shook my head fondly, looking down at him. "You're impossible."</p><p>He clapped his hands once. "That too. I'm the best."</p><p>I smiled and then Kuzco looked at the floor, grimacing. "Now, can we go home before I get fungus  on my feet from this bathroom."</p><p>"Disgusting!" I yelled, looking down at his bare feet, only covered by pantyhose. </p><p>"I did this for you, Prince Charming," he whined, looking at me with puppy eyes.</p><p>"And for that I am eternally grateful. Now come on. Let's go home and watch Magic Mike."</p><p>"That sounds fabulous."</p><p>VANESSA</p><p>"I think they could've done better with the decorations. I mean, what is this, the 70s?" Drizella complained. But I barely heard. I was checking my makeup in a compact mirror when out of the reflection I spotted Eric. And he was talking to Ariel with a smile on his face.</p><p>She was wearing a short, sleeveless peach dress, which was actually very pretty. Her red hair was in a perfect messy updo and she giggled when Eric said something, making me nervous. He had begun to rub his neck, something I knew he did when he was flirting or nervous around someone.</p><p>I scowled. If he were flirting with her, I would look like a dud in front of everyone one that saw. Plus, she was beautiful and looked perfect tonight. I didn't want any competition.</p><p>I snapped the compact shut and shoved it into my lavender shoulder purse. "Be right back, girls," I muttered, stomping over to them. I looked at my surroundings, noting that Ariel was right next to the large bowl full of red punch. I smirked and walked up to it.</p><p>To Ms. Hearts, the person manning the snacks and drinks, I said, "One punch, please." She grumpily ladled some of the liquid into a clear plastic cup and handed it to me, moving on to the next student. I smiled at it and fixed my eyes on Ariel, who was tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. I strutted over to them, an anticipating feeling in the pit of my stomach. </p><p>"Hey Eric," I said slyly, taking Ariel's place. I bumped into her, methodically dumping my punch on her, right down the front of her flawless dress. It was a shame, really.</p><p>I heard everyone around us collectively gasp, and I felt a satisfaction growing at the sight of Eric's horrified face. "Oops," I said, simply raising an eyebrow at the ruined girl.</p><p>Ariel gasped, face frozen in dread as she stared down at her now-red dress. Her chin started to quiver and she suddenly pivoted and ran off to the bathroom. Almost the whole gym was silent as her heels clacked away quickly.</p><p>I smirked as I threw my arm around Eric's shoulders, but he threw me off. "Get off of me! What did you just do?"</p><p>"It was an accident," I stated, looking at him with hurt eyes as I angrily crossed my arms.</p><p>"Whatever that was," Eric yelled, pointing in the direction in which Ariel had disappeared to, "was not an accident. I'm finished with all this! I don't care if I don't have any money, I'll find some. But I won't help you anymore. We're done, Vanessa."</p><p>Gasps and whispers were heard around the room but all I could feel was my heart dropping to my stomach. My blood ran cold and everything seemed to slow down as I heard sniggers, some people outright chuckling. He wasn't supposed to do that. I stared around the room, my peers' sneering faces seeming to loom at me. My throat started to close and my eyes stung.</p><p>I stood there for quite a while, frozen in place. Finally, once everyone was done ogling me and the chattering resumed, Ariel and her friends walked out of the bathroom. A few people watched, but most heads turned when Moana Motunui, the new girl, stomped up to me. She looked horrible, like she'd been crying. If it were a different situation, I would have laughed since she was about 7 inches shorter than me, but she looked furious and I had no energy to chuckle.</p><p>The girl stepped right in front of me, fuming, and I looked down at her. Then, suddenly, she reached up and slapped me right across the face. My check was left stinging and I brought my hand up to it, the crowd gasping. She looked surprised at herself, but then scowled again. "Come on, Ariel," she growled. She, Ariel, and her friends walked off, disappearing into the rain outside.</p><p>I raced to the bathroom, not wanting to follow them. I looked around desperately, my blurred tears not helping me escape. There, I knocked out the panel of the window, climbing through and hearing rips from my dress. I was greeted with pouring rain. Putting my arms over my head and tears streaming down my face, I ran off of campus. Halfway to the dorms, I took off my heels because I kept twisting my ankles and falling.</p><p>How could Eric do this? In front of the whole school? I was only trying to keep Ariel away from him. Why did he do this? He knows that my fear is looking like a loser in front of the school, and that is what he just did. He broke our deal. And I was slapped by a midget. That was so humiliating. I began to sob harder.</p><p>I stumbled into the lobby of the dorms where Lady Tremaine was sitting silently at her desk. I dashed past her and jabbed the elevator button, furiously wiping my eyes.</p><p>Finally, I was hastily stuffing my room key into the lock, bursting in and collapsing on my bed, my beautiful expensive lavender dress all drenched and ruined. </p><p> </p><p>MEG</p><p>I shifted my weight nervously between my legs before finally bringing up my fist to knock on his door. "Coming!" I heard someone yell, it was probably Edward. Sure enough, he opened the door. He was not ready at all; his brown hair was wet and dripping, and all he was wearing were some sweatpants. I quickly averted my eyes from his abs and smirked at him.</p><p>"Is Olympus here?" I inquired.</p><p>Edward nodded and leaned back into the room. "Hey, straighty!" he called, then winked back at me. "Your date is here, and she looks pretty fabulous!"</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Thanks," I told him with sarcasm.</p><p>"Have fun, Meg," Edward told me, stepping back into what I assumed was the bathroom.</p><p>There was a bump and someone grunted an "ow" before Hercules came into view, rubbing his head. But the moment he saw me, he froze, looking at my outfit.</p><p>"Meg," he stuttered, his eyes finally reaching my face. "You look incredible. I mean...woah. I thought you said you weren't wearing a dress?"</p><p>I looked down at my clothes. "This is a skirt, dumbass."</p><p>In truth, Hades had sent it to me. It was a black two piece set — he had originally tried to get me to wear yellow, but I shot that down very quickly. If I had to wear anything other than my black jeans and leather jacket, it was at least going to be black. The skirt was large, floor length and sadly, sparkly. The top was an elegant crop top, and I had put my hair in a long braid. The skirt hid the fact that I was wearing my combat boots.</p><p>"Well, it looks amazing," Hercules smiled. "Um, I didn't think you were going to come here— uh, hold on."</p><p>He stumbled around his room, and I heard him shuffling for something. He finally reappeared, holding a box. "Um, I assumed you didn't want a corsage," he said with a nervous chuckle. "And I couldn't find any dark colored flowers, so I got you this."</p><p>He held out the small navy box, with gold scripted letters of a brand I didn't recognize. I rolled my eyes at him as I took it, opening it unceremoniously. Inside was a set of rings. They were all black or silver, and I recognized a goth, underworld pattern. One of them had a skull on it, another had a set of devil horns, one a snake, and one was a black heart.</p><p>I looked up at him, and he was smiling sheepishly. "I heard you say to Vidia once that you wanted more rings, and I saw these and thought of you. Do you like them?"</p><p>I grinned and put one on, admiring it. "Yes. Thank you, Herc."</p><p>"No problem....Um, I'm not exactly completely ready, if you haven't noticed," he said, motioning to his clothes. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt that was only halfway buttoned. I blushed. How could I not have realized? "I'm going to finish getting ready. You can come in if you want. Edward also is getting ready, so it's a bit of a mess."</p><p>I nodded and followed him into the room. The entire place was covered in pride and rainbow apparel, and I gasped. "Did Kuzco do this?" I asked, grinning.</p><p>"That was me, actually!" Edward yelled from the bathroom, and I grinned. I carefully sat down on Edward's bed, looking around.</p><p>Hercules continued to button up his tight shirt, and I tried not to watch. To distract myself, I dug through my bag and I pulled out a water bottle. I held it out to him, smiling. "Pregame?"</p><p>Hercules grinned. "Sure." He took the water bottle and poured the clear alcohol into the cap of it, then shot it back, grimacing. "Ugh."</p><p>He handed me the bottle and I poured some directly into my mouth, it burning as I swallowed. I scrunched up my eyes, but it passed quickly.</p><p>"So," I said, folding my hands, "where's Kuzco?"</p><p>"He and Edward are going together and he said it was only customary that they don't see each other until a 'big reveal,' which you know is going to be unnecessarily over the top. He's getting ready in Lilo and Vanellope's room."</p><p>I nodded. Hercules walked over to his closet and retrieved a hanger that held a subtly purple suit jacket. He shrugged it on and I almost drooled at the sight of him. He smiled, running a hand through his hair. "So, do you want to go?"</p><p>I stood up and nodded. Hercules and I made our way into the lobby, and once we reached the door to the outside, he kindly held his umbrella for both of us.</p><p>We arrived at the gym. Once Hercules handed Belle our tickets, which he had insisted on paying for, we walked inside. "You don't want to vote for the Ice royalty, right?" he asked anxiously, his hand rubbing his neck.</p><p>I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "No, of course not. That thing's stupid," I told him, waving my hand. "Let's go get some punch."</p><p>We moved through the people to one of the large punch bowls, which was being monitored by the dean, Eve Queen. We got two cups and stood by the chocolate fountain people were surrounding. We made some boring small talk, before I heard the familiar key of the piano play over the speakers.</p><p>"When I was a young boy." Somehow, I suddenly made eye contact with Vidia. I put down my cup.</p><p>"I have to go dance," I told Hercules, pointing to her.</p><p>He laughed. "I thought you said you didn't dance."</p><p>I gave him a look. "This is different. Come on." I grabbed his hand and quickly pulled him to the center of the dance floor, where Vidia met us with a glint in her eye. Some other kids who knew the song too were converging in this spot, singing along to the slow lyrics. They included Kida, Jim, Tramp, Alice, Lilo, Tink, Vanellope, Wilbur, and Violet. Hercules looked violently out of place and greatly confused.</p><p>I began singing out the words, beaming alongside Vidia and Alice, who looked ridiculously fantastic. "He said, son, when you grow up<br/>Would you be the savior of the broken<br/>The beaten, and the damned?<br/>He said, will you defeat them<br/>Your demons and all the non-believers?"</p><p>I laughed at Hercules, who looked a little scared as the drum picked up and we emo-screamed the next lines. "When I was a young boy<br/>My father took me into the city<br/>To see a marching band<br/>He said, son, when you grow up<br/>You will be the savior of the broken<br/>The beaten, and the damned?"</p><p>I smirked at him, making eye contact. He looked terrified, and I smiled as the drum of the loud part started. I immediately began to jump up and down, smiling and whipping my head around, my ponytail flying everywhere. I closed my eyes and felt exactly as I had listening to this song in seventh grade. <br/>"Sometimes I get the feeling<br/>She's watching over me<br/>And other times I feel like I should go!" I shouted, pointing my two fingers at Hercules, who was being jostled around by my friends. I laughed and continued to dance, screaming the words and smiling with Vidia.</p><p>I put a fist up, and I pretended to be belting into a microphone. "To carry on<br/>We'll carry on<br/>And though you're dead and gone, believe me<br/>Your memory will carry on<br/>We'll carry on<br/>And though you're broken and defeated<br/>Your weary widow marches!"</p><p>Hercules finally started to smile as he watched me. I felt silly, letting everything go like this, but surrounded by my friends, I felt safe. That never usually happened, so I had to revel in the moment while it lasted.</p><p>I made eye contact with Alice as the best lyrics were about to start, and I mustered up all my energy to scream them out. "I don't care!"</p><p>Not knowing what came over me, I grabbed Hercules's hands and began to force him to dance and jump around sporadically with me. He laughed and tried to join in, but my crazy rhythm was hard to keep up with.</p><p>Pouring my heart out, I began to yell the last round of lyrics, feeling the emotion that was tied to them. It was good to feel such a good emotion like this. I felt powerful. I felt good. And it only got better as I looked at Hercules. "Do or die<br/>You'll never make me<br/>Because the world<br/>Will never take my heart<br/>You can try<br/>You'll never break me!"</p><p>Herc watched me in awe as I cheered with my friends, who were as out of breath as I was. I made small conversation with them, and then grabbed Hercules's wrist him to drag him off the dance floor. He still looked in shock as I downed another cup of punch. "Wow," was all he had to say. I smirked.</p><p>"That song was my lifeline in middle school," I explained. "Where all my...goth stuff happened. And for my friends too. It's like our friendship password or something."</p><p>He chuckled. "Well, I can't lie, I was a little scared," he admitted guiltily.</p><p>I laughed. "Yeah, I could tell. Come on, let's sit down."</p><p>We went to sit on the bleachers, watching various dramas unfold and commenting on them until someone near us said, "They're going to announce the Ice Royalty!"</p><p>I scoffed. Hercules looked at me. "You don't want to see who gets it?" he asked.</p><p>I shrugged. "I don't really care."</p><p>He pushed himself up and held his hand out to me. "Come on, it'll be fun."</p><p>I smirked and stood up myself, walking down the bleachers. I met Vidia at the bottom. "Hey, this gotta be good, right?" she said.</p><p>I nodded and hooked my elbow in hers, before Hercules joined me by my side. We walked towards the converging crowd.</p><p>"Hello, Disney High!" Charlotte yelled into the microphone, which was turned up way too loud. People flinched but nevertheless gathered around the stage, the lights going up a bit. I kept back with Vidia and Hercules near the cupcakes. Since Tiana made them, they were obviously the best thing about this night.</p><p>"My name is Lottie LaBouff, as you know, and I am your class treasurer! Tiana is feelin' a little under the weather today, so I have the swell pleasure of announcing the Ice King and Queen of this year! We will start with Ice King."</p><p>Lottie, in her giant pink dress, took a few steps to eagerly accept the envelope from Minnie Mouse. She opened it, bursting with excitement as the gym held their breath. She gave a fake smile and leaned into the microphone. "Eric Caspian!" she yelled.</p><p>People burst into applause, looking around for him. Then, some guy from the crowd shouted, "He's not here!"</p><p>Everyone froze and started whispering, and Lottie's face fell. She held up a gloved finger and gave the audience an apologetic smile. "Wait one second, sorry about this, folks." She hurried off the stage with Minnie and the hall burst into chatter.</p><p>I smirked. "Wow, what a bust." Vidia joined in with my snickering, but for some reason, Hercules just looked nervous. I picked up another cupcake.</p><p>Lottie ran back onto the stage, looking flustered. She grabbed the microphone. "All right, kids. We will be handing the crown to the second place winner, who is Hercules Olympus!"</p><p>I gasped and turned to look at him. Herc was blushing. I punched his arm, and he glanced down at me. I pushed him jokingly, and he stumbled through the crowd toward the stage. He walked up to Lottie, who was grinning. He bent down for her to place a plastic silver crown on top of his ginger hair.</p><p>"Would you like to make a speech?" Lottie asked eagerly, motioning to the mic.</p><p>Hercules awkwardly leaned into the microphone, and I laughed fondly. "Hi, um, thank you. This is a real honor. Um, I would like to give a special thank you and shout out to my date tonight, Meg," he said, finding my eyes. Mine widened. Then I narrowed them at him, and he smiled, keeping contact as he added, "You look beautiful tonight. Thank you everyone."</p><p>There was a round of applause and some people turned around to look at me as Vidia laughed. I blushed a little bit but played it off by looking annoyed and rolling my eyes, then biting into the blue frosted cupcake.</p><p>Clapping, Lottie walked back up to the front of the stage. "And now, for the Ice Queen! Oh, I'm so excited!" She dramatically peeled open the envelope and she leaned into the mic. "The Ice Queen is... Vanessa Sea!"</p><p>There was a pause, and then applause started up. But nothing happened. The students began to look around. "Vanessa?" Lottie asked, squinting into the crowd.</p><p>She whispered to Minnie again, and turned back to the audience, holding out her arms. "All right, everyone, Vanessa doesn't seem to be here either. So we'll move on to the next candidate. Kuzco Pepikrankenitz!"</p><p>The applause started up again, but Kuzco didn't appear. Murmuring rippled through the room, and I chuckled. This really sucked. Hercules was left alone, holding his bouquet awkwardly alone on stage.</p><p>Lottie whispered again, after a few empty moments. "Okay...Kuzco doesn't seem to be here either. So I guess we'll keep going. Third time's the charm!" She talked to Minnie and turned back around. "The new Ice Queen is Megara Creon!"</p><p>My heart dropped into the Underworld, and I dropped my cupcake. My eyes wide, I looked at Vidia, who was smirking furiously. I pointed at her. "You," I seethed jokingly. I wanted to laugh. This was exactly something she would do. She reached out and pushed me. People practically dragged me to the stairs, which I reluctantly climbed, stealthily flipping off Vidia in the process, who was now howling with laughter.</p><p>I looked over at Hercules, who was smiling too. I gaped as I realized. "You too?" I asked him, and he shrugged sheepishly. I couldn't help but grin as I made a fist at him, biting my lip but failing to repress it.</p><p>Lottie excitedly placed a tacky snowflake on my head and said quietly, "Congrats, Meg! I never woulda guessed!"</p><p>I gave her a fake smile and accepted my bouquet. Lottie motioned towards the microphone and nudged me towards it. I leaned in, staring at the school's population gathered, watching with confused faces.</p><p>"Hi," I said, smirking ironically.</p><p>"Woo! Go Ice Queen!" I heard Vidia shout. I looked in her direction and gave her death eyes.</p><p>"I would just like to say that I have no idea how I got up here, I didn't even know I was nominated," I said truthfully, giving evil looks to everyone. "So screw you to everyone who voted for me, I hate you. Especially Vidia and Hercules. Thank you!"</p><p>I gave my best princess wave and sauntered over to stand by Hercules. "You are the worst," I muttered to him. God, I couldn't stop smiling though.</p><p>He cringed. "I thought it would be nice?"</p><p>I chuckled and rolled my eyes, and Lottie went up to make her last announcement. "And now, it is time for the Ice King and Queen's first dance!"</p><p>I sighed, pressing my lips together and looking at Hercules, who was laughing. Stop it! I thought at him as hard as I could. You're making me fall in love with you. I can't. I won't.</p><p>I handed my bouquet to Lottie, who looked overjoyed to hold it. Hercules held his hand out for me. I smirked and took it, letting him escort me down the steps. The students had cleared the dance floor and made a circle around us. Oh please let the song not be embarrassing.</p><p>The DJ began to play a song I didn't know the name of. "You know I want you<br/>It's not a secret I try to hide<br/>I know you want me<br/>So don't keep saying our hands are tied<br/>You claim it's not in the cards<br/>Fate is pulling you miles away<br/>And out of reach from me<br/>But you're here in my heart<br/>So who can stop me if I decide<br/>That you're my destiny?"</p><p>Hercules offered his hand out to me, and I glanced up at him. His eyes looked intently into mine. Foolishly, I decided that I could trust him. I had to for this to work. I took his hand and he cautiously put his hand right above my waist. I almost flinched. Hercules looked at me as if to ask if it was okay, and I gave a small nod. I placed my other hand on his shoulder. I had no idea how to do this; I have only seen people slow dance in movies. My heart was racing wildly.</p><p>We began to move back and forth to the increasing beat, and I could feel everyone's eyes on us. But I couldn't help but focus on the lyrics. "What if we rewrite the stars?<br/>Say you were made to be mine<br/>Nothing could keep us apart<br/>You'd be the one I was meant to find<br/>It's up to you, and it's up to me<br/>No one can say what we get to be<br/>So why don't we rewrite the stars?<br/>Maybe the world could be ours." I didn't agree. I couldn't be with Hercules, for real. This was simply a mission. He wasn't meant to be with me. The golden boy with the rebel girl would never work, not in a million years. And then the second part began, and I tried to communicate the words to Wonderboy. Wonderboy who was dancing with me. And he wouldn't stop looking at me like that.</p><p>"You think it's easy<br/>You think I don't want to run to you<br/>But there are mountains<br/>And there are doors that we can't walk through<br/>I know you're wondering why<br/>Because we're able to be<br/>Just you and me<br/>Within these walls<br/>But when we go outside<br/>You're going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all<br/>No one can rewrite the stars<br/>How can you say you'll be mine?<br/>Everything keeps us apart<br/>And I'm not the one you were meant to find<br/>It's not up to you<br/>It's not up to me<br/>When everyone tells us what we can be<br/>How can we rewrite the stars?<br/>Say that the world can be ours." We continued to dance to the song, and I got a little bit into the flow. I felt a bit uncomfortable that I wasn't leading, but I was getting increasingly awkward as I mixed up my feet. But the climax of the song got faster and I started to get flustered, looking down at our feet nervously. My stupid skirt kept getting in the way.</p><p>"Hey, it's okay," Hercules told me quietly, and I looked up to him sharply. "We can stop if you want."</p><p>I stopped, and almost forgot to keep moving my feet. Then, looking directly into his eyes, I shook my head.</p><p>The music quieted down. "You know I want you<br/>It's not a secret I try to hide<br/>But I can't have you<br/>We're bound to break and my hands are tied." I had never related with lyrics more in my life. I quickly dropped my hands, stepping away from Hercules, who looked lost.</p><p>"Meg?" he asked, concerned.</p><p>I stared at him, and then turned and walked away as fast as my trusty boots could carry me. "Meg!" he called. I pushed out of one of the gym's side doors, directly into the pelting rain.</p><p>I heard the door open again, and I turned around to see Hercules looking at me helplessly. "Meg, please. Are you okay? I'm sorry for nominating you, I just thought it would be a joke -"</p><p>I shook my head. "No," I finally said, squinting my eyes through the water. "No, it's not that, Herc. It's just..." It's just that this whole connection is a lie and I'm not supposed to be feeling things for you but I am. But I don't want to get hurt again but you're just another one of my missions that my father has sent me on but it would literally kill me to hurt you in any way.</p><p>But I didn't say that. Instead, I said something to him that I never thought would happen. I took a deep breath, and took a step towards him. "There's a reason I wouldn't let you kiss me the night of the concert."</p><p>He looked confused. "No, Meg, it's fine, really -"</p><p>I shook my head again. "My last boyfriend, he...uh..." I grasped for words, but I had to do it the Meg way - the most blunt and emotionless as I could be. "He raped me."</p><p>Hercules looked shocked. After a few moments of only the sound of rain, and the muffled beats of inside, he finally said, "W-what?"</p><p>I held out my hands, plastering on my normal sarcastic personality. "Do you not know what rape is? He took advantage of me, performed nonconsensual sex -"</p><p>Hercules shook his head quickly, massaging his temple. "No, I - Meg, I am so sorry. I didn't know."</p><p>I waved my hand away, and walked over to take cover under one of the classroom's roofs. "No one does but Vidia and Elsa."</p><p>He waited for a moment, taking it in as I observed the rain. Then, he spoke again, a new anger residing in his usually awkward voice. "Who was it?"</p><p>I looked at him in surprise. He was cracking his knuckles. My lips parted a little bit. "No one, it...doesn't matter."</p><p>Hercules pushed himself off the wall to stare at me. "Of course it does, Meg. Who was it? Who is this douchebag? I want to...I don't know, punch him!"</p><p>I chuckled. "Woah, big boy, slow down. It's fine, it was like two years ago anyway."</p><p>He widened his eyes. "What? Meg, this is -" He tugged at his hair.</p><p>I held my hands out to calm him. "Wonderboy, chill. It's okay. I came out relatively okay. All this extra damage is from my dad, not that. Well, actually that might not be true. But I don't need you to punch anyone tonight."</p><p>He took a deep breath, and then made eye contact. He finally softened and nodded. "Okay. Okay," he breathed.</p><p>"Good. Now let's go back inside and greet our subjects, okay?" I said with a laugh, walking back into the rain.</p><p>"But we're all wet," he said, looking at his ruined suit.</p><p>I smirked. "We can have a little fun. You might not need to punch anyone, but we sure can make people slip."</p><p>He smiled and I took his hand, walking back into the gym to finish the night together. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: okay wow 13100 words! congratulations you read all that!!</p><p>i'm gonna make this short and sweet: moana is sad, snow is in love, lottie is getting a little closer to adam but is getting deeper into vanessa's plots: she lied to her best friend tiana. jasmine is a fabulous dresser and she and aladdin had a cute karaoke moment. milo and esmeralda aren't dating, they're just hooking up but they don't really know how to move forward. milo met kida. edward and kuzco are very gay, but for each other? maybe, maybe not. gaston tried to ruin their night, but they both stood up for each other. vanessa ruined ariel's dress, but as a result, moana hit her and eric broke up with her. finally, meg and herc went together—she had her goth community moment, she won ice queen along with herc, which he and vidia set up, and she revealed what happened to her with adam.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: If you were to go to a formal dance/event/etc like this, what would be your dream outfit?</p><p>My Answer: probably similar to what moana is wearing here: like ariel's blue, sparkly dress at the end of the movie. that is stunning.</p>
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<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Chapter 41</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>JACK</p><p>The second after Elsa's glove ended up in my hands, I knew I had messed up. Elsa's face of shock had broke me. I didn't even flinch when the dangerous ice came spiking towards me — I just needed to get to her.</p><p>And so I did. I had pushed my way through the staring crowd. "Jack!" Anna had called out to me. She, Kristoff, and Hans were standing there, looking extremely concerned. I narrowed my eyes at Hans. What, was he afraid of running out of people to stalk? "Jack, what happened?" Anna asked me. She looked scared. She knew what Elsa was capable of.</p><p>I shook my head. "I have to go after her," I said with determination, and I started to turn around again.</p><p>"Let me go with you," both Anna and Hans said, and I whipped around with anger searing in my eyes. I would not let Hans near my girlfriend, especially not now.</p><p>"No," I hissed, giving one last glare to Hans before turning back around and crashing through the gym's doors and into the rain. It was completely dark, and the rain and wind was limiting my vision.</p><p>Wind.</p><p>I set off to the forest, keeping Elsa's glove close to my chest. I tried to squint through the weather, before I saw it: the lake. It was completely frozen over, with hurried ice patterns dancing across it. I cautiously tested my weight on the layer of ice before sprinting across into the woods.</p><p>There was a trail that she had left, leaving ice covering the trees and leaves on the ground. I followed it quickly, but then suddenly, it stopped. It was like she had just disappeared. My heart had dropped. I hoped she was okay.</p><p>I ran to the pond, but to my surprise, it was still liquid. Elsa hadn't come here, unlike I suspected. I sifted around the dead leaves and finally found my staff. I grabbed it tightly, the familiar chill giving me goosebumps as I glanced up to the full moon. "All right, wind," I called, feeling the breeze gather around me. "Help me find Elsa."</p><p>I was whisked into the air, the wind catching my suit jacket and lifting me higher and higher into the clear night sky. It was starting to get stormy again. I hope she didn't get caught in it, but then again, she might have caused it. I squinted my eyes as the strong wind stung them, scanning the forest. There seemed to be no explanation. She had simply vanished. I turned around, levitating as I looked over the rest of the campus. All I could see were a few dance-goers bustling to the gym, laughing. I looked at the forest again. There was no trace of her, no trail I could follow.</p><p>The wind carried me to the street, loud and fast cars underneath me. I didn't see her. Panic grew in my chest as I kept looking around. She was nowhere. She was gone. It was all my fault. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>Honk! I cried out as two bright lights came speeding towards me. I acted quickly, the adrenaline rushing through me as I held my hands out for protection. I heard a crash and opened my eyes. A wall of ice had formed in front of me, and the car ran into it, its hazard lights blinking and steam rising from the hood.</p><p>I gasped in shock. People were starting to get out of their cars as screeches were heard and cars bumped into one another. Everyone was staring at me. "Hey!" a man yelled, and I whimpered before turning and running out of the street, away from the school and away from my ice wall. "Hey! Someone grab her, she ruined my car!" someone shouted, and I pushed my legs harder, taking random turns down dark avenues. My heels pounded on the concrete and the air was stinging my lungs. It was like they were frosting over. The air was getting colder, anywhere I went. I was completely losing control.</p><p>I finally came across a park, panting. It was far away. I didn't even know I could run that fast. It was empty. I walked cautiously through. I didn't know if I could go back to school. My powers were getting out of hand, and if I had broken the ban...</p><p>I would probably go home. I would be homeschooled, but somewhere where I could keep everywhere safe, where I could be isolated. It would be better for everyone.</p><p>But I needed somewhere to sleep for the night. I couldn't go back home right now, for the trains were closed, and I had used all my money to buy the tickets Jack had forgetten. Upon further exploring, I finally spotted a small place in the park, covered with dense trees. I squeezed my way through them and observed the clearing.</p><p>It was kind of like the one in our woods, without the pond. This would do. I just needed shelter, because when I glanced up, dark rain clouds were beginning to close in.</p><p>I took a few steps, searching the place for loose branches to make a fort, when frost cracked under my feet. I looked down. My heel had created it, swirly designs spreading over a small portion of the dirt. My mind sparked, and I looked at my hands. What if...?</p><p>I hesitantly pointed my palms at the ground, took a deep breath, and forced a layer of smooth ice into a rough square. I stepped onto it, making sure it could hold my weight. Okay. Okay, this might work.</p><p>Next, I formed walls. Four walls on each side of smooth, cold ice. The roof closed me in, and I looked around at the little house I had made. I smiled.</p><p>Now for a bed. I looked at one of the corners, and instead of ice, I shot out a nice fluffy bed of snow, complete with a pillow. It was cold in here, but it felt nice. Leaving my ruined dress on, I melted into the powdery snow, which felt incredible against my sweaty skin.</p><p>I still didn't get much sleep that night. </p><p> </p><p>The next morning, I woke to the filtered sun flashing through my ice house. It didn't melt a bit. My emotions were still running high, high enough to keep the air around me at a below-freezing temperature. I shivered a little and pushed myself out of the snow. I stepped out of the house and onto the wet ground, my heel sinking into the mud. But it wasn't mud. It was more snow. I glanced up, and saw gentle snowflakes drifting to the ground. Some landed in my hair, and I stuck my hand out. I was making it snow.</p><p>I had to leave. I was getting out of control. Even though I knew I looked like a mess, I had to find a way home. I turned. I didn't know how to melt my house. Maybe if I left, the air will get warmer and it will melt on its own.</p><p>I walked away, casting one last glance at my creation. I didn't want to go to the dorms. Just the thought of the stares and my friends fussing over me made me want to puke. My next thought was the principal.</p><p>I set off. I had no idea what time it was or which direction school was in. I tried to retrace my steps, but everything from last night was a blur. It was weird to think that I had just been at the Winter Formal only hours before.</p><p>Somehow I found myself stumbling back on to school campus. It was Sunday, but the main office's doors were unlocked. I ran to the office with determination, and that was also unlocked. No one sat at the reception desk, but I noted that Mickey's door was cracked open a little bit. Nerves jangling through me, I knocked. What was I going to say? What if I had hurt someone last night? He would probably expel me.</p><p>"Hello?" Mickey's voice came from inside the room. I pushed the door open, clearing my throat. Mickey's face split into an understanding smile and he placed down the files he had been studying. "Elsa."</p><p>I rushed towards a chair and sat down, spitting out whatever words of apology I could think of. "I am so so sorry, Principal Mickey. I don't know what came over me. I understand if you expel me, I would if I were you. I am dangerous, I know, and I am more than willing to cooperate and go home. I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused, I will go up to my room and pack immediately-"</p><p>"Elsa!" Mickey interrupted, and I looked up from my trembling hands to see a kind, understanding, smiling face. "Elsa, I'm not going to expel you."</p><p>I stopped breathing for a second. "You're - you're not?"</p><p>He chuckled and shook his head lightly. "No. In fact, this whole incident is my fault."</p><p>I was confused, furrowing my brows. "What?"</p><p>He sighed and folded his hands on his desktop. "You remember your suggestion for a Magical Powers course at this school?" I nodded. "Well, I decided to take the action to add it to our class regimine."</p><p>I gasped. "Really? But...but I hit Hans? You don't think that we're dangerous?"</p><p>Mickey gave a sympathetic smile. "Of course not, Elsa. Actually, your accident brought to light the issue. Magical students need guidance with their powers, and it's not right for me to deny that from them. So I am adding it to students' schedules next semester."</p><p>I smiled wide. "You are? Oh, that's fantastic!" I said excitedly, but then stopped. "But what does this have to do with what happened at the dance?"</p><p>Mickey looked down. "Well, you see Miss Arendelle, at the time of the dance I was interviewing some prospects for instructors for the class. I lifted the magical ban for a few minutes to give the interviewees a short chance to show me their abilities with their powers. Those minutes just happened to clash with your emotions. So Elsa, it is not your fault, it is mine. The ban lift was completely coincidental. I apologize if I scared you."</p><p>I processed this for a minute before exhaling with relief. It wasn't my fault! "So my powers didn't break the ban? They're not that powerful?"</p><p>Mickey shook his head. "No, though I'm sure that with practice, you could grow powerful enough to do that on your own," he said lightly.</p><p>The words were meant to encourage me, but I shrank into the seat in fear. I don't want to be more powerful. I wish my powers would just go away.</p><p>But I mustered out a small smile at the principal and thanked him. He showed me out the door as I continued to thank him, but someone else was in the main office as I stepped out.</p><p>It was Jack. He glanced towards me, paying no attention to Donald Duck's apparent reprimands at being at school at six in the morning on a Sunday, and our eyes locked. "Elsa!" he cried, rushing towards me and crushing me in a hug. His suit was damp, and there were heavy bags under his eyes and his breath smelled questionable, but I melted into his arms in a final act of release. I was okay.</p><p>He finally let go of me and looked me over, grabbing my hands to examine them and picking leaves out of my hair. "Where were you? I was worried sick, I stayed out all night -"</p><p>"Jack," I interrupted, cupping his freezing cheek with my hand. "I'm okay now."</p><p>He brought his own hand to mine and nodded, squeezing it reassuringly. "I went after you this time," he said quietly, his eyes misting over.</p><p>I stared into his eyes as deeply as I could. "I know."</p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>I took Elsa back to her room and stayed with her. I had squeezed into her small bed  and held her close to me as she slept for about three more hours. I knew I was all wet and I was beyond exhausted from being out all night, but with her in my arms everything felt okay. I could only hope she felt the same.</p><p>She woke up with worried eyes, but I couldn't tell if they were more worried than usual or not. I let her take a shower first and then I went after, grabbing some clothes from my dorm room. After handing her one of my blue sweatshirts and pulling one on myself, I sat down on the bed next to her. "So."</p><p>She took a deep breath and kept her gaze on her hands. "So."</p><p>"I suppose this is all my fault, huh," I said, remembering last night. Taking off her glove and raising my voice. How could I have been so stupid? I was able to tell that she was panicking, but I thought if I pushed her through it...I thought...I shook my head. These days I don't know what I was thinking anymore.</p><p>Elsa shook her head in response. "No, it's mine. I'm really losing control over my magic. Even if Mickey had lifted the ban at the time --"</p><p>"What?" I interrupted. She proceeded to repeat her conversation with Mickey earlier. I had to admit, I was relieved that she wasn't powerful enough to break the ban herself--yet. Sometimes she did scare me. Of course I would never tell her that.</p><p>"But I'm still dangerous," she continued. She held her head in her hands, breathing deeply. I rubbed her back soothingly, and opened my mouth to refute her statement. But I couldn't bring myself to do it, because that would be a lie. She was dangerous.</p><p>She glanced up at me, looking for comfort. I glanced awkwardly at her leg, not meeting her eyes. Finally, Elsa flopped back down onto her blankets, looking blankly at the ceiling. I cleared my throat and asked, "Do you want me to stay?"</p><p>She closed her eyes for a few moments, inhaling through her nose. "No, that's okay. I'd rather be alone for a while."</p><p>I could tell that wasn't true, but I was only making things worse. As always. I stood up and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I love you," I said honestly on my way out the door.</p><p>She didn't respond. </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p>I took a breath a knocked on the door of Ariel's dorm. It opened a bit to reveal Anna's freckled face. She glanced me up and down with a tang of disgust, which I did not take offense to at all. I knew I deserved it. "Um, hi. Is Ariel here?" I asked hesitantly.</p><p>She bit her lip and looked back into the room. "Ariel, he's here."</p><p>I cleared my throat as Anna disappeared and Ariel took her place. She looked beautiful, even with smudged makeup from last night and messy, unwashed hair. It all didn't matter to me. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, leaving us in a quiet, empty hallway. "Hi," I said, my voice cracking a bit.</p><p>"Hi," she replied, biting at one of her nails.</p><p>"Um, how are you feeling?"</p><p>She shrugged. "Fine. It was just a bit of juice, I recovered quickly." I was relieved to see a small smile play over her lips. I chuckled too.</p><p>"Good. Did-did anyone tell you what happened after?"</p><p>"After Moana slapped her?" She was talking about the badass hit Moana delivered to my now-ex girlfriend.</p><p>I shook my head. "No, I...I broke up with Vanessa. For good."</p><p>At last Ariel looked up, allowing me to see her beautiful blue eyes that were now filled with hope. "Really?" It made my chest feel inflated with warm air at the thought of me making her happy.</p><p>I nodded, but then her face fell again. "But what about your mom? Her funeral?"</p><p>I cast my eyes to the floor, exhaling. This was the worst part about all this. "We- I decided not to have one. I'll have a simple memorial for her...I think that's what she would have wanted."</p><p>Ariel nodded, pulling her sleeves over her hands and connecting her eyes with mine. "Are you okay?"</p><p>I smiled bittersweetly and nodded. "Yeah. I'm out of the witch's clutches now, so I think anything life throws at me will be pretty manageable."</p><p>She grinned and wrung her hands. "So, um...do you want to go get some coffee with me? I was about to get some, and it'd be great if you would come with."</p><p>I smiled and held out my hand to her. "I'd love to."</p><p> </p><p>TARZAN</p><p>I sighed and quietly sipped at my lemonade, watching Pocahontas and John have a heartfelt conversation from across the cafe. It had been almost two months since the Halloween party, and almost two months since Lottie kissed me That meant it was almost two months pretending to be broken up with Jane, and I was still heartbroken, even though I knew it was fake. We were to meet Lottie here at the Black Cauldron to discuss the situation.</p><p>I looked up as the small bells tinkled at the doorway, and saw Jane walk in. My face split into a grin. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She looked around with bright eyes and smiled when she saw me, the skin around her blue eyes crinkling and her small nose moving a bit. She was wearing an Oxford sweatshirt with a white collar peaking out, and her reading glasses sat atop her head. She was clutching her sketchbook and had a twig in her hair. She must have been climbing the trees. I wished I had been with her.</p><p>"Hello," she said happily as she sat down across from me.</p><p>"Hi," I replied. "How are you?"</p><p>"Good, good....And yourself?"</p><p>"Good, good. Um, do you want something?" I asked, motioning to the counter.</p><p>"Actually, a tea latte doesn't sound half bad." I stood up before she could and I paid for her London Fog Tea Latte, which I knew was her favorite. It reminded her of her home.</p><p>"Thank you," she said as she accepted the warm mug. She took a deep breath. "So." She glanced around and leaned forward to continue in a whisper. "Do you think we're allowed to talk about it in here?"</p><p>I also glanced around. Only Pocahontas, John, Elsa, Boo, Lilo, Naveen, and Perdita and Pongo were in here, plus Taran working at the counter. "It seems pretty safe," I responded with a grin. She giggled and sat back in her chair.</p><p>"Do you think we'll be allowed to date again? It seems foolish to go on like this. I mean, how much does Vanessa care really?" she said, sipping her latte. She took the mug away to leave a film on her upper lip. I surpressed a laugh, but she could tell. "What?"</p><p>I smiled and leaned over to wipe it off with my thumb. I had half a mind to then lick my finger, but I thought that'd be a bit too far. At least for a public place. "Oh, thank you," she said with a chuckle.</p><p>I was still leaning forward. I couldn't help but stare deeply into her eyes, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I missed her so much. Jane began to lean forward too, and I was just closing my eyes when the bell rang violently and someone shouted, "Sorry I'm late, honeys! I--oh! Sorry!" Jane and I quickly jumped apart to see Lottie grinning at us. "Should I leave you two alone?" she asked, wiggling an eyebrow.</p><p>Jane blushed. "No, please, sit down, Lottie."</p><p>"Give me one second, sugar," she said, and she bustled over to the counter. "Hey, Taran. Say, that's a mighty fine hat you've got there..."</p><p>He blushed. "I mean, uh, it's company policy..."</p><p>Lottie giggled far too hard, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Oh, you are too funny! Well, if you don't mind, I will take a vanilla frappuccino with extra whipped cream but not too much ice blended in, and some chocolate sprinkles. Thank ya, suga!" She handed him a bill and then hurried to sit down on the couch next to me.</p><p>"Why, hello! Oh, Jane, darlin' I love what you're doin' with your hair, it looks marvelous. Did you get that look inspired by the latest Vogue? Oh, nevamind, I'm gettin' off topic, aren't I?"</p><p>Jane laughed. "It's perfectly fine, Lottie. How are you?"</p><p>Lottie's smile broke a little bit, just quick enough for me to question if I was imagining it or not, because she answered happily, "Oh, I'm just wonderful, thanks for askin'. Now I'm sure y'all are anxious to hear what I've got to say about your relationship issues. Which I am so sorry I caused, by the way, I hope you know that. You know how Vanessa is, always orderin' people around and makin' them do nasty things. I am so sorry, I just didn't want your lives to get any more messed up if I didn't do what she said. I hope you understand that."</p><p>I put a comforting hand on her wrist, which she flinched at. "Of course we understand, Lottie," I said, and Jane nodded.</p><p>Lottie sniffed, looking down at my hand. "I just hope you know that I feel real bad. And if I could undo it, I would. I really would."</p><p>"We know, Lottie. It's okay," Jane told her, compassion in her eyes. Lottie looked up to give her a sad smile.</p><p>"Yes, and thank you for not drugging me," I said with a small laugh. It caused the other two to laugh as well, lightening the mood.</p><p>"No problem. I got a little trouble for not doin' that, but it's all right. As long as you're okay." Jane and I shared a short, concerned look. What punishment had Lottie gone through for not drugging me at the Halloween party?</p><p>Lottie clapped, forcing my hand off her wrist. She forced a smile onto her powdered face and looked at both of us. "Well! I'm pleased to tell you that you can get back together. I've determined that Vanessa has lost interest in your relationship, since, well, she's not in one that has to compete with you anymore."</p><p>"Really?" Jane and I said in unison, hope building in our voices. Lottie nodded excitedly, and I stood up, engulfing her in a hug.</p><p>"Oh!" Lottie cried in surprise, and I let her go to pull Jane into a kiss. Jane was beaming, laughing at my enthusiasm, but I didn't care. I had her back.</p><p>"Thank you, Lottie," Jane said once I was done kissing her. I put an arm around her and kissed her head, as Lottie straightened out her white fluffy coat.</p><p>"Don't mention it. I'm glad you two are happy," she said, her eyes traveling over our faces. I couldn't help but notice how lonely she looked.</p><p>"We are. Thank you, Lottie," I said sincerely. She nodded and took a breath. Then she shook her head.</p><p>"Well, I should get goin'. Duty calls, eh? I'll see you later, all right? Bye bye, now." Lottie rushed out of the cafe, leaving her untouched frappuccino behind.</p><p>Author's Note: WOW IM BACK WOAH AHHHHH IM ACTUALLY EXCITED IVE GOTTEN MY SPARK BACK LADS IM SO HAPPY</p><p>i haven't updated this since last year ha ha ha</p><p>so ya</p><p>sorry this is kinda bad? i'm getting back into my groove, so forgive me. but first update in! six!! months!!!!</p><p>review: elsa ran away after her powers went wild at the dance, and jack looked for her but didn't see her until she returned to school. he is apparently a bit scared of her. but next semester mickey will be adding magic classes, so that will be an improvement!! eric told ariel that he broke up with vanessa, so now both are single and ready to mingle, oo la la. and now, a minor plot line, tarzan and jane are back together!! but is lottie okay? grease is up next!</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What have you been doing over winter break/the holidays?</p><p>My Answer: my family from the east coast came over for christmas, then i went to yosemite for new years with my other family, and on friday i'm going to disneyland for my friends bday!!</p>
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<a name="section0042"><h2>42. Chapter 42</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>LOTTIE</p><p>I pulled my jacket closer around me as a chilly wind whipped across the yard. I hurried into the building, relieved to be in the warmth as I patted my hair down. "Lottie!" a comforting voice called. I met eyes with Tiana, who was smiling as she walked towards me. "Would ya like to walk with me to the Student Council meetin'? It starts in half an hour."</p><p>"Half an hour? Suga, you've got plenty of time! I'll meet you there, okay? I've got somethin' to check on," I bluffed with a sweet smile.</p><p>She nodded. "No problem. Love ya!"</p><p>I smiled until she was out of the building, shuffling her files furiously. My expression dropped, my cheeks aching. I was avoiding her, I knew it. I was still feeling guilty for taking advantage of her, all for Vanessa. It had been my mission to make sure she and Eric won Ice Royalty, but Tiana's sickness at the time had made it too easy for me. I couldn't look her in the eye still. I felt horrible. Sure, I had betrayed a lot of people on this traipse for the greater good, but doing it to Tiana felt even worse.</p><p>I shook myself out before heading up the elevator and down the hall. I hesitantly knocked on the door of my target dorm to hear an irritated, "What do you want?" from inside. I slowly opened the door and peeked my head in.</p><p>Vanessa was lying in her bed, surrounded by silk pillows. She was in grey sweats and a purple tank top. Her face was bare and her hair in a greasy bun. She didn't look normal, I barely recognized her. I don't think anyone had ever seen her like this. "Vanessa? Can I come in? It's Lottie."</p><p>"Ugh, Charlotte, what is it? I'm busy wallowing in my misery here," she groaned, stuffing her face into her pillow. I knew she was feeling self conscious about her looks, but I couldn't care less. I could tell she was hurting.</p><p>"I was wonderin' if I could do anything to help."</p><p>There was no response, so I took that as an annoyed invitation inside. I stepped forward into the mess of clothes on the floor and I shut the door. Vanessa did not move from her pillow cocoon. "Are you okay?" I asked her, standing awkwardly by her bed. I didn't know if I was allowed to sit or not.</p><p>She raised her empty face. "You idiot, do I look okay?" she snarled. There were dried tear streaks on her cheeks.</p><p>I did not flinch, but instead sat on her bed near her knees. "I'm sorry about your breakup. I really am."</p><p>She took a breath and flipped over to look at me. "Why do you even care?"</p><p>I averted my eyes. I didn't care to admit it, but I really did care. She seemed to be in a lot of pain. "You're...you're my friend. And I know how hard it is. I've had my fair share of breakups in my day, honey."</p><p>She looked away from me. "You...you're not my friend," she sighed. I was slightly taken aback.</p><p>"What?" I said, taken aback. Sure, we weren't besties, but I thought she considered all her cronies friends. Had my acting been that bad?</p><p>Vanessa shook her head. "I treat you like shit. I don't have any friends, Charlotte. Everyone hates me."</p><p>I bit my cheek. "No. No, they don't, suga. Sure, sometimes you can be a bit difficult, but people don't hate you. What about me and Marie and Drizella and Anastasia? We're your friends."</p><p>She didn't protest, but I assumed she didn't have enough energy to. She knew I was lying. "Why else would I be here to make you feel better, Vanessa?" I said, rubbing her shoulder consolingly.</p><p>She didn't answer. "You want somethin' from the cafe? I'll run down and get you a tea or whatnot. It'll help you feel better."</p><p>There was a small nod from the head of black hair. I gave her a small pat before standing up. "I'll be right back."</p><p>I returned to her room from the cafe for a second time, holding a hot to-go cup of tea and a piece of banana bread. "Here ya go, suga. That'll help, right? When was the last time you ate?"</p><p>She looked up at me reluctantly. "Friday."</p><p>I held back a gasp. "Vanessa...you haven't eaten in two days? Honey, that's really not healthy!"</p><p>She shrugged nonchalantly, taking a small nibble of the bread. "I've done more."</p><p>I was shocked to hear this confession. I mean, I knew sometimes she threw up on purpose when she had eaten too much, but I didn't know that she starved herself too. I had been down that road. I wouldn't wish it on anyone else.</p><p>"Vanessa...Sugar, that's really not good. Is this a common thing?" I asked, trying not to be too pushy. I hoped she wouldn't see the concern on my face.</p><p>"I don't know. But I've lost fifteen pounds over the last two months, so it's going well." My eyes trailed over her arms, which seemed pale and stick-thin. My stomach dropped. Flashes of hospital rooms and needles and tubes crowded my mind, and I hoped she couldn't tell what a panic she had sent me in.</p><p>My phone suddenly went off, and I picked it up with fumbling hands as Vanessa took a sip of the tea. Are you on your way? It was from Tiana. The Council meeting was in five minutes.</p><p>"Oh, phooey, I've gotta dash. But I'll come back, okay, Vanessa? You stay right here. I'll be back in an hour." I hurried to the door and left her alone hesitantly, but she didn't seem like she even had the strength to get out of bed. I doubt she had since yesterday.</p><p>I scurried onto school campus to our Student Council meeting, bursting into the full room. "'Scuse me, everyone, I seemed to have lost track of time. I'm here now!" I rushed to my seat next to Tiana, readjusting my top.</p><p>Sitting down, my heart beating quickly, I leaned over to my best friend. "I think Vanessa is killing herself."</p><p> </p><p>TINKERBELL</p><p>Moana spent the night in my dorm after the Winter Formal. She said she didn't want to see Ariel at the time, so I shared my bed with her. I woke up much earlier, and I slipped out of the door and walked down to the lake, shivering slightly in my jean jacket. I sat near the edge of the woods, looking across the lake.</p><p>I remembered my times long ago, where it was just me and Peter and Alice. I couldn't help but feel that we were happier back then. Sure, I was still hurting because Peter didn't like me even then, but it was okay because he was still my friend. He had broken up with me last night, but it had ended our friendship. Now he's neither my boyfriend nor my best friend. The thought overwhelmed me, and I broke down into tears, hiding my face in my hands.</p><p>I wept on my own for two hours, watching the dorm building come to life with students in between crying episodes. Everything used to be so easy. I wanted to hate Wendy, but I couldn't. She made Peter so happy. And I loved him. So if he was happy, I was happy. Even if I was shattering to pieces inside.</p><p>After those sorrowful two hours, students began to walk outside, so I decided to head back up to my room. Alice and Wendy were getting dressed to go to breakfast. "Hey, Tink," Alice said quietly, looking up at me. I couldn't tell whether she pitied me or despised me. I supposed it didn't matter. If I wasn't friends with Peter anymore, I couldn't be friends with them either. Wendy didn't say a word to me. They both left quickly.</p><p>Moana had just woken up, swaddled in my bedsheets. "Hey," she said, bleary eyed. "You okay? You look bad."</p><p>I scoffed. "Thanks. I honestly feel like shit, but...I guess that's my own fault."</p><p>There was silence as Moana rubbed her eyes. I sat down on my bed, placing my head in my palms and trying to push down the persistent lump in my throat. I sniffled as she sat up. "It'll be okay," she said comfortingly. She rubbed my back.</p><p>I burst into tears once more, falling into her embrace. I couldn't stop thinking of Peter. My first kiss with him during Spin the Bottle. Giving him a valentine in 9th grade and seeing him throw it away when he saw Wendy approaching. Sleeping next to him when I took him on my annual family camping trip. Holding his hand as he taught me how to rollerblade. Knocking on his door at 3 in the morning after my first breakup. Falling into his strong arms because I knew he would always be there for me.</p><p>All of that was gone. And it was all my fault. </p><p> </p><p>KIDA</p><p>"Do you think I should cut it shorter? Like a guy's haircut?" Mulan asked from across the room, fiddling with his black hair in the mirror.</p><p>I looked up and shrugged. "It'd be fine either way. You could always do, like, a ponytail or bun or something."</p><p>Mulan sighed and dropped his arms, turning around to glance at me. "My parents would kill me."</p><p>I gave a sympathetic smile. "Then just don't cut it. You'll still be manly enough. Adam has long hair."</p><p>"I guess."</p><p>My phone began to ring, and I picked it up to abandon studying for my chemistry final. It was an unknown number, but I was too bored to care. "Yes?"</p><p>"Kida? Is this you?" someone, a male asked from the other end.</p><p>I narrowed my eyes. "Yes. Who is this?"</p><p>"This is Milo Thatch, I introduced myself at the dance?"</p><p>I smiled. Why hadn't I recognized his voice? I had been thinking about our encounter since the dance for longer than I'd like to admit.</p><p>"Ah, yes, the boy attracted to shes and thems," I said with a fond chuckle.</p><p>He laughed self consciously. "Yeah, yes, that's me. Um, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?"</p><p>I shrugged. "Go for it."</p><p>He cleared his throat and hesitated a bit, before asking, "Where are you from?"</p><p>I smiled. I got this a lot, mostly because I decided to keep my accent when speaking English. "My family lives on the coast of Morocco. It's a city nicknamed Atlantis after the legend of the underwater city." Milo gasped loudly and I laughed. "Know of it?"</p><p>"Know of it!" he cried, frenzied. "I've studied the legend of Atlantis ever since I could read! My grandfather left me a book in their language, and I've been trying to translate it and learn about them ever since--"</p><p>"Wait, wait," I interrupted, sitting up in my chair. My heart was beating hard. "You have a book? With the language written in it?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah. I've translated roughly half of it, but some doesn't exactly-"</p><p>I stood up in shock. "You can read it?"</p><p>"Yeah. Can't you?"</p><p>"No one has ever seen the written language in thousands of years. It's all verbal for us now."</p><p>"You speak it?" he said in shock.</p><p>"Nishentop Adlantisag, kelobtem Gabrin karoklimik bet gim demottem net getunosentem bernotlimik bet kagib lewidyoh," I responded in my city's language, feeling the familiar sounds roll out of my mouth with ease.</p><p>"Wait, say that slower?"</p><p>I repeated it. "Spirits of Atlantis, thank you for...for trespassing?" he tried, uncertain in translating it.</p><p>I smiled. "Spirits of Atlantis, forgive me for defiling your chamber and bringing intruders into the land," I told him in English.</p><p>"Wow. Where'd you come up with that sentence?"</p><p>I chuckled, and I brought my hand up to the crystal hanging around my neck. "It's a sort of legend among the locals. They say there's a chamber underneath the city with the spirits of our gods, and only specific incantations and a special crystal can activate them."</p><p>"I think I've read about that."</p><p>I grinned, my heart thumping. "Maybe we could teach each other about it? You could bring your book and teach me to read. I'll teach you how to speak it without an American accent."</p><p>He laughed. "Yeah, I would like that. How about tomorrow, in the cafe for lunch? 12?"</p><p>I smiled widely. "It's a date, Milo Thatch." I hung up before he could respond.</p><p> </p><p>HERCULES</p><p>I was lying on my bed, texting happily with Meg, who was complaining about her roommates forcing her to go bowling. Even her texting style was charming.</p><p>jesus fucking christ i would rather die than put on bowling shoes</p><p>I laughed and adjusted my arm, jumping when my dad's face popped up on my screen. I fumbled to answer it, hesitantly putting the phone to my ear. He only called when he was angry, or when he wanted something. "Hello?" I said.</p><p>"Did you forget?" my dad's deep voice boomed, making me flinch.</p><p>"For...forget? What?" I said, my stomach dropping.</p><p>"Hercules," he reprimanded harshly, "we have our extremely important business call in five minutes. Are you ready? Do you look presentable? You'd better be online in two minutes."</p><p>"Oh, right! Damn, Meg," I cursed, knowing I had told her I'd meet her in her alleyway in ten minutes.</p><p>"What did you say?" Zeus said in a foreboding tone. I froze.</p><p>"Nothing. I'll be online soon."</p><p>"Are you talking about a girl?" he asked, his tone rising.</p><p>I began to sweat. "No, no, Dad, I-"</p><p>"If this girl is distracting you from your work, son, do not let me find out. You'd better stop being so infatuated if you know what's good for you. Nothing can interfere with this business, or your schoolwork and football, do you understand?" he warned me, almost yelling through the phone. </p><p>I flinched, but stayed on the phone. "Yes, Father. I'm sorry. I'll....focus more."</p><p>"Good. Now get on this call. This business is left in your hands. You'd better not mess it up." I hung up and ran to the bathroom to slap some gel onto my hair, and I sloppily pulled on a collared shirt before opening my laptop and joining the call right on time. It was a bunch of old, corrupt businessmen, including my dad. And then there was me. I couldn't concentrate the entire call. All I could think of was Meg, waiting alone and smoking dozens of cigarettes in the alley. </p><p> </p><p>CINDERELLA</p><p>"Hey Rory?" I asked from across the dorm, studying her side profile as she typed away on her laptop. She looked up, her blonde curls moving over her shoulder.</p><p>"Yeah, C?" she replied, giving me a perfect smile.</p><p>I took a breath, looking down at my blue bed sheets. "I feel really guilty," I confided, blushing.</p><p>She looked at me with a sympathetic smile. "Ella, how many times do I have to tell you that you didn't drop me! My leg is not your fault, okay?"</p><p>I shook my head. "No, not about that...but now I'm thinking about that too," I said with a quiet, self-conscious laugh.</p><p>Aurora smiled and laughed, turning in her chair to look at me square in the face. "I'm sorry. What's on your mind?"</p><p>How was it that she seemed so unaffected? Just two days ago we had kissed in the middle of the dance floor at the Winter Formal, and both of our boyfriends saw. "Um, the - the kiss from the other night?"</p><p>I could see Aurora blush from her desk and tuck her hair behind her ear. "Yeah...I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry."</p><p>I shook my head, my lips tugging up in an embarrassed smile. "No, it's okay - I mean..." I sighed. I couldn't seem to come up with words whenever I spoke to her. I wanted to tell her how much I cared for her, but I knew what was holding me back. I cared for Henry just as much.</p><p>"Hey," Rory said, standing up to walk over and sit next to me. "We told Henry and Philip that it was an accident, and it was. It's...behind us, I suppose."</p><p>My heart began to sink and I looked up at her. "So...it didn't really mean anything?"</p><p>Rory's violet eyes softened, her lips parting. She reached up and trailed her fingers along my cheek, making me melt. "Of course it did. It meant everything, but we just can't tell our boyfriends that."</p><p>I squeezed my eyes shut. "But it just feels so wrong. I still love Henry, too."</p><p>Her hand and her face fell. She took my hand softly. "I know. I still love Philip too. I love...I love both of you."</p><p>I squeezed her hand and got up to walk over to my laptop, saying, "I have an idea. I've been researching a bit. It's called a polyamorous relationship."</p><p>"What?" she said, quirking an eyebrow as I sat down again beside her. I showed her my laptop screen.</p><p>"It's a relationship with more than two people. It's all consenting, and it's a way for us to be together and also be with Henry and Philip but without going behind their backs. As long as they agree to it, of course."</p><p>Rory looked at me for a moment, and I had the dreadful feeling that I was about to be called crazy, shot down. She inhaled. "I don't know if they will. Agree, that is. I mean, we already told them that the kiss was nothing."</p><p>I cringed. "We'll just have to backtrack on that a bit. I mean, what's the harm in asking?"</p><p>Aurora stood up and crossed the room to turn and face me while leaning on her desk. "There's a lot of harm, Cindy. They could be against it, and then they'd know about us, and then they'd probably break up with us, and then for you and I to get together would be messed up."</p><p>My face fell as I realized the truth in her statement. It was more likely than not to blow up in our faces. It was best not to tell Philip and Henry. "But then what do we do? Cheat on them? I want to be with you," I asked her, shutting my laptop.</p><p>Rory took a deep breath and fiddled with the pencil she had picked up. "I don't know."</p><p>We sat there for a few minutes. I had to do something about it. I loved Henry and Aurora. I couldn't choose just one.</p><p>"Maybe...maybe we should bring it up to them," Aurora finally said, looking up at me.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I mean...if they really love us, they'll understand. Ella, I really want to be with you. And I really want to be with Philip. The least they can do is understand."</p><p>I grinned and grabbed my laptop again, beckoning for her to sit next to me, and I showed her all my research with excitement building in my chest. This could actually work out. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Philip says he's two minutes away," Rory reported, checking her text. Henry was already here, in our dorm room, and he was showing me pictures of the dog his father had just gotten for his lonely mansion back at home. I couldn't help but notice my sweaty hand in his. I was getting really nervous, and his continuous kisses on my cheek weren't helping the situation.</p><p>"Hey!" someone said as they opened the door, and Philip stepped in to give Rory a big hug. "What's good, Henry?" Our boyfriends hugged briefly. "Hey, Cind. What's up, you guys?" he asked, smiling brightly at Rory and I. I shifted uncomfortably and stood up to stand next to Rory.</p><p>"Um, Philip, you may want to sit down for a sec," Rory told him seriously, biting her lip. I grabbed her hand to give it a quick, reassuring squeeze. She didn't let go as our boyfriends looked expectantly up at us. We seemed to take a deep breath at the same time and glanced at each other, Rory nodding at me. I looked back at the boys.</p><p>"Um...hi. So, we kind of wanted to talk about us. Me and Rory," I started, not breaking eye contact with Henry. He didn't seem to get what I meant.</p><p>"You mean the kiss? We told you, babe, it's okay. As long as it had no strings," he said sincerely to me, and I outright cringed, my stomach rolling. I looked to Rory for help, who came to my rescue without me needing to ask.</p><p>"That's the thing. There may be a few strings attached."</p><p>Henry and Philip looked at each other and then back at us. Philip's glance darted down to me and Rory's clasped hands. Hers was the only thing to keep me from shaking. "What do you mean?" he asked.</p><p>"We've been friends since kindergarten. You know, we're best friends, inseparable," I said, my voice shaking a bit. God, why was I so scared? I was talking to the boy I loved. "But things have gotten a little...confusing lately. We -- we've kind of developed feelings...for each other."</p><p>Henry's eyes widened, but his face remained relatively blank. Philip just looked at Aurora. I could tell he was trying to read her emotions, to see if this was a prank or not.</p><p>"We're suggesting a polyamorous relationship," Rory jumped in, filling the shattering silence. "Because we still love you."</p><p>"I love you so much, Henry," I said, trying to get him to look at me. I let go of Rory's hand.</p><p>She continued. "Where Ella and I would date, but we would still date you. You would just know about us."</p><p>"You don't have to date each other, Philip doesn't have to date me," I added. "We want to be together as well as with our separate boyfriends."</p><p>Henry let out a surprised little breath, still darting his eyes around the floor. He ran a hand through his dark hair. Philip was resting his chin on his fist, his gaze flickering between Rory and I. Finally, his eyes resting on his girlfriend's, he sighed. "Okay. If it's what you want, Rose, then okay." Beside me, Rory broke into a beam.</p><p>Henry jerked his head over in Philip's direction. "What? Phil, how could you be okay with this?" I could already feel my throat clogging with tears.</p><p>Philip glanced over to him. "I love her. And I know she loves me. I just want her to be happy, and if both Cindy and I could provide that for her, then I don't see why not."</p><p>Henry gaped, and it felt like my heart was starting to do the same. "Because, Phil, it's cheating! I'm supposed to stand by and watch my girlfriend kiss another girl?"</p><p>I started to cry. "I'm sorry, Henry--" I started, walking towards him, but he stood up defensively. Through my tears, I could see that he was crying too. My heart broke.</p><p>"No, Cindy --" he never called me that-- "I need to be alone. This...this is over."</p><p>He stumbled out of the room, sobbing. I cried out after him, but he didn't come back. It was all my fault. </p><p> </p><p>ERIC</p><p> </p><p>Tonight was the night. The opening of Grease. The moment I had woken up, I was filled with nerves. Ariel and I felt prepared -- we had practiced nonstop in rehearsal and even gone over lines on our own together -- but nothing could stop the butterflies churning in my stomach. After getting dressed I called Ariel, who picked up right away. "Hey!" I said, involuntarily smiling.</p><p>"Hi," she replied cheerfully. "Are you ready?"</p><p>I sighed. "Really nervous, to be honest."</p><p>She laughed. "Me too! I've already puked twice today."</p><p>I cringed a little bit, but chuckled. She had fallen silent, and in the background there was laughter. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The show ran smoothly, for the most part. I was sweating hard near the end, but everything seemed meaningless once Ariel walked out in her last outfit.</p><p>My jaw dropped. "S-Sandy?" I mustered out, truly starstruck. I had never seen her in the full costume. The leather pants hugged her curves perfectly, and the black top revealed her collarbones which were more attractive than I thought collarbones could be. Her bright red hair was curly and huge, just like the movie. She ran her tongue over her red lips, and said, taking her fake cigarette out of her mouth, "Tell me about it...stud."</p><p>I didn't even need to act; I fell backwards, my eyes rolling as Naveen and Jim caught me and pushed me back onto my feet. "I got chills! They're multiplying, and I'm losing control!" I took off my Rydell cardigan, flinging it aside for Tramp to catch. "It's electrifying!" I over exaggerated my fall to my knees, pretending to be shocked.</p><p>At Ariel's feet, she leaned down to take my chin in her hands, and our eyes caught. Hers had never seemed brighter until now. "You better shape up 'cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you," she sang, pushing my chest lightly with her red heel. I stood up to chase after her as she backed up, taking off her leather jacket and throwing it to Anna, who seemed like she couldn't contain her excitement. "Nothing left, nothing left for me to do," we sang in unison, and I grabbed her hand as we moved into the chorus.</p><p>"You're the one that I want!" we sang, with the ensemble backing us up. I spun her around and she was smiling widely, causing my heart to leap.</p><p>She hurried to the fake carnival game stand and sat on the wood. "If you feel with affection, you're too shy to convey," she sang seductively. I have never seen this side of Ariel, and I couldn't help but be turned on as she ran her finger down my jaw. "Better take my direction. Feel your way." She wrapped her leg around me -- oh Jesus, why was this so different than in rehearsals? -- which earned some enthusiastic whistles from the crowd. She jumped into my arms and I spun around to the center of the stage to do our shimmies like the movie. The T-Birds and Pink Ladies joined in beside us, and we leapt into our choreography. Everyone was smiling wide.</p><p>I grabbed Ariel's waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. We were both breathing hard, but I kept my eyes on hers. She didn't look away.</p><p>Ariel jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist as she cupped my face in her hands as the song ended. I grinned at her, and she panted through her smile. My heart was beating wildly.</p><p>I let her down reluctantly, but grasped her hand tightly. That wasn't exactly in the stage directions, but she didn't protest. "Oh, the gang's all together again!" Giselle gushed as Frenchy, her face pink. "I could cry!"</p><p>"Me too," Tink said as Marty. I looked around at all of them. The show was almost done, it had gone so fast, but we still had five more to go.</p><p>I shared a glance with Ariel before raising my arm and shouting, "Wop ba-ba lu-bop!"</p><p>"Wop bam boom!" the rest chorused back, and we broke out into the final song. I didn't care if I ended up spouting nonsense, I just kept Ariel's hand tightly grasped in mine as we danced through the song.</p><p>I looked at her and shimmied back and forth, "Boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy, Shoo-be doo-wop she-bop!" I had to let go of her and dance with Tink, Giselle, Moana, Anna before returning back to Ariel.</p><p>"We'll always be together!" everyone sang in unison, and I hugged Ariel's waist as the curtain dropped. Sweaty, panting, and caked with makeup, I looked down at her, and she turned to meet my eyes.</p><p>"We did i-" she began, but I leaned down and kissed her, grasping her face gently between my palms. Sparks seemed to fly around us and time stopped. A few gasps echoed around us, but I didn't care. I finally broke away, slowly, and she fluttered her eyelashes before opening her eyes. "We should...we should get ready for curtain call."</p><p>"Okay," I agreed quietly, and we left each other to go to our separate wings. The song Grease began to play, and Jasmine, Arista, Kristoff, Lady, Terence, Nala, Robin, Philip, Hans, Dmitri, Kuzco, Anya, Vanessa, Florian, Anastasia, Simba, Snow ran out as the ensemble, in their 50's costumes. Against my will, I tried to catch Vanessa's eye, but she kept her gaze on the floor. Edward, Lottie, and Esmeralda came out as Teen Angel/Vince Fontaine, Principal McGee, and Cha-Cha. Cindy and Milo ran out as Patty Simcox and Euegene. Jim, Naveen, and Henry came out as Doody, Sonny, Putzie, and they met Tink, Anna, and Giselle as Marty, Jan, and Frenchy. They bowed and Moana and Tramp bowed together as Rizzo and Kenickie, and they both earned a large round of applause.</p><p>Finally, Ariel and I ran out to join hands in the center of the stage, running forward as everyone clapped. I bowed lightly and then stepped back to let Ariel curtsy as she smiled, her red curls falling over her shoulder. She looked back at me to grab my hand tightly. We stepped into line with the rest of the cast and took our final bows, the audience jumping to their feet as the curtain fell.</p><p>The cast burst into a roar, hugging each other and clapping and screaming. I beamed and looked over to sweep Ariel into another deep kiss. She smiled into my lips and rested her palms on my shoulders.</p><p>"Ayyy, Eric!" Tramp shouted, patting me on the back as we broke away. Anna and Arista were beaming nearby. I smiled at her until Jasmine grabbed her hand to take pictures with the others. I watched her smile with her perfect red lips and laugh with her friends, before Dmitri flung his arm around my shoulders and took me towards the dressing rooms.</p><p>There, the T-Bird actors and I got out of our costumes and makeup, all of us shouting the lyrics to "Fever" as Naveen pulled out his ukulele and freestyled. Henry was the only one who didn't join in, and he packed up and left quickly. Finishing the song and hanging up our costumes, Tramp commented, "Hey, we don't sound that bad."</p><p>"Jim, don't you play the drums?" I asked, grinning and wiping the concealer off my face.</p><p>He shrugged, but smiled and said, "Yeah, but I haven't gotten to practice since I was home in summer."</p><p>"I play bass," Tramp chimed with a smirk.</p><p>"I play practically everything," Naveen bragged, raising an eyebrow. "Eric, what about you?"</p><p>"Acoustic. And flute, I guess."</p><p>There was a beat. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Tramp asked slowly, anticipation building. I looked around at them.</p><p>"We should make a band!" Naveen shouted, grinning. I perked up.</p><p>"Hey, that sounds fun!" I said. Jim nodded.</p><p>"Maybe we'd need a few more people, but I think that'd be sick," Tramp said, walking over to his bag excitedly. "I'll make a group chat tonight and we can talk about it, okay? This'll be so cool!"</p><p>He slipped out of the room singing incomprehensible lyrics, and Naveen and Jim and I left soon after that. As I stepped out of the room, preoccupied with my full hands, I bumped hard into someone rushing by. I glanced up. "I'm sorry, I wasn't..." I made eye contact with Vanessa.</p><p>I braced myself for a sharp spur of choice words, or even a hand to the cheek. But she broke eye contact with me quickly and ducked her head. She walked on.</p><p>I watched her go. A part of me felt bad for her. She looked tired, sad. But the rational part of my mind knew she was just putting on an act, to make me feel bad for her.</p><p>I shook my head and walked on, out the Artists' Exit to be met with Hercules, Shang, and Robin who hugged me and congratulated me. "Guess what," I told them with a sly smile as we headed back to the dorms.</p><p>"What?" Herc answered.</p><p>"I kissed Ariel," I revealed, barely containing my grin.</p><p>"That's my boy!" Robin shouted, jumping on me and trying to ruffle my still-gelled hair. I fist bumped the other two and stumbled home with them, smiling all the while. </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>"HE KISSED ME!" I yelled when I finally saw my friends outside. I jumped into Anna and Moana'a arms, giggling. I felt like I wasn't even controlling my laughter, it just kept bubbling out of my chest, stretching my smile across my face. My hands were still shaking and I was all over the place, but I couldn't help but be filled with giddy excitement. My dream had come true. Eric had kissed me!</p><p>It was all I could think about for the rest of the night. And I got to do it again for the next five shows. I wanted to tell Aurora how happy I was that she had fractured her shin, because it turned my whole life around. I kept jumping up and down on the way home, unsteady on my feet, and when I got into bed, I could not fall asleep.</p><p>I leaned over the edge of my bed in the darkness. "Moana?" I whispered. "Are you awake?"</p><p>There was no answer. She rolled away from me. She was awake. It hurt my feelings a bit, but nothing could take me down tonight. I pushed my blankets off and padded into the bathroom, flicking the lights on and sitting on the edge of the bathtub. I opened my phone, took a deep breath, and pressed the button.</p><p>Eric immediately picked up. There was a second of silence where my voice seemed to disappear, but I eventually squeaked, "Hi. Did I wake you?"</p><p>"No, no," he answered. I could tell he was grinning. "Couldn't sleep?"</p><p>I shook my head. "No way. I'm just really happy."</p><p>He sighed on the other end. "Me too. Ready for the other shows?"</p><p>"Yeah, I hope so."</p><p>There was a pause. "You were - uh - really, really good tonight. Especially...um, nevermind."</p><p>I grinned, my heart leaping. "Especially what?"</p><p>Eric cleared his throat. I could almost picture him rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, 'You're the One that I Want' was really good."</p><p>I blushed. Really hard. "Yeah, we finally nailed the choreography," I agreed, but I had a feeling that wasn't what he was talking about.</p><p>He laughed. "Exactly. Hey, uh, do you want to do something before our matinee tomorrow? Like, have brunch?"</p><p>I nodded furiously, before forgetting that he couldn't see me, and responded enthusiastically, "Yes!"</p><p>"Okay, great." We continued talking for what seemed like minutes, but when I checked the time, I realized that it was 3 AM.</p><p>"Oh, gosh, I should get to bed. It's really late," I told him, biting my lip.</p><p>"Yeah, I should too. See you tomorrow?"</p><p>"Today, more like."</p><p>He chuckled, and my stomach leapt. "Good night, Eric."</p><p>"Good night, Ariel."</p><p> </p><p>MOANA</p><p>The curtain fell for the last time on Sunday night, and the entire cast of Grease erupted into screams of joy, some tears, and lots and lots of hugging. Anna immediately jumped on me, yelling, and I hugged Tink afterwards, who grinned. I hurried back to the dressing room and changed back into sweats and a sweatshirt. I kept my Rizzo makeup on, because I looked kind of bomb. It didn't matter though. The only person I ever wanted to impress was kissing the love of her life these days. It definitely didn't make me want to throw myself off a cliff. But at least I had Tink to talk to.</p><p>Apparently a Disney High Drama tradition, we all flooded into Daisy's Diner at 10 PM, taking up half the restaurant with heavily makeuped and adreneline-high high schoolers. I squeezed into a booth with Tink, Anna, Kuzco, Kristoff. I watched as Ariel took up a two-person table with Eric and they ordered one milkshake. With two straws. I groaned and slouched down in the booth, letting Tink order a burger for me. "Stop moping, Mo," she told me, smacking my shoulder.</p><p>I shook my head, whining, "It's too hard. They're right there."</p><p>Tink laid her arm across my shoulder. "Then just look at me."</p><p>I nodded sadly and sat up, reaching for our plate of fries. "You know, they don't even look that cute together," Kuzco said to me. I tried to glance over at them again, but I just saw Tink's lashes, with her eyes intent on Kristoff's story. Her arm was still around me, so I leaned my heavy head on her shoulder. If only it were Ariel's. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hellooo lovelies! im back for a second update!! hoped you liked it! also i APOLOGIZE that grease was underwhelming as fvck but i just really didn't feel like writing a bunch of grease scenes. i also kind of got distracted watching a bunch of high school productions of grease on youtube, so...</p><p>let's review, shall we? lottie is feeling guilty for betraying tiana, but now she is starting to become concerned for vanessa who is busy crying over eric and apparently has some eating issues. tinkerbell is absolutely heartbroken over peter and is also losing wendy and alice. kida and milo seem to have a lot in common regarding the legend of atlantis; could it be real? hercules is getting distracted over meg, and his father warns him about the negative effects she could have on his life. cinderella and aurora are feeling guilty about their feelings for each other, so they suggest a consensual polyamorous relationship to their boyfriends. philip is into it, but henry is certainly not. grease runs smoothly, and a new, fresh side of ariel is revealed. eric finally kisses her, and they are both super excited! but moana is now hurting over ariel, who her heart still belongs to.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is the last movie you saw in theaters? Did you like it? Why or why not?</p><p>My Answer: i saw the new star wars movie with my family at the el capitan theater last week. i give it a 6/10 LMAO (spoilers spoilers spoilers)<br/>what i liked: got pictures with stormtroopers, absolutely sick laser light show before the movie, i loved the focus on rey, ewoksssss, good new droid, the 3 way hug at the end was 🥺, han's reappearance, the fuckin magic trick of the transfer of the lightsaber behind reys back to ben AAA, leia's presence, the ending scene was beautifullll, the fact that ben died (i do not appreciate him as a human being)</p><p>what i disliked: everything else. the short amount of time the spy guy got (i can't even remember his name), why was she a palpatine? and i thought the emporer was dead? and the fuckin knights that were just like there that cracked me up because they were so flipping stupid lmaoooooo, the fact that they did rose dirty— like i didn't like her in the last movie bc of that romance w finn but they really pushed her aside and that made me mad bc she's poc and they just didn't want to deal with that and i'm still salty. the c3po memory thing felt cheap and also who tf was that woman who poe wanted to kiss?? i hated her LMAO she was just there to be ~hetero~. and the reylo kiss. i almost gagged at that. like literally. EW. but above all. the thing. i will FOREVER. be mad about is that FINNPOE AKA STORMPILOT WAS NOT A THING. THAT IS MY OTP. OSCAR FOUGHT SO HARD FOR IT BUT DISNEY IS TOO PUSSY TO DO IT BC THEY WOULDNT GET AS MUCH MONEY. IM SO MAD BC THEY WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER DONT TALK TO ME IMMA CRY</p><p>so. spoilers ended.</p>
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<a name="section0043"><h2>43. Chapter 43</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MULAN</p><p>I folded my prettiest dresses into my suitcase, adding my bag of makeup that I hadn't touched since summer. Going back to my parents was terrifying. I hadn't showed them my shorter hair or told them about my new relationship with gender. They didn't know about my football experience. And it didn't help that Giselle was visiting for the first few days -- as a friend.</p><p>At that moment, she texted me a picture of a pink, traditional Chinese dress that she had bought just to meet my parents. She was so adorable, and I grinned at the name on my screen. <br/>Look, it's so pretty! Do you think they'll like it?</p><p>I typed back, definitely. it's going to look amazing on you. my aunt can do your makeup for you.</p><p>Yay!!!! I'm so excited! Meet you at your dorm?</p><p>yes sure!</p><p>Just as I started to zip up my home suitcase and my separate Paris suitcase, which was way more me, Giselle burst in. "Hi!" she said cheerfully, swarming me in a warm hug. I squeezed my arms around her, kissing the top of her strawberry head, which smelled like lilies. She looked up to give me a quick kiss on my cheek, and then pulled away to capture me in her eyes. Then she looked away. "Hello Kida, hi Pocahontas! Are you excited for your winter break?"</p><p>Kida just gave a small smile and went back to her packing, while Pocahontas responded politely about flying back to Virginia to see her family. Giselle glanced back at me. "Are you ready?"</p><p>I nodded, and grabbed my two bags as well as my carry on backpack. I bid goodbye to my roommates, shooting a glare at Kida for her rudeness to my girlfriend, and then we disappeared into the hall. I wanted to hold her hand, but both of mine were pulling my suitcases. Giselle skipped ahead, humming a tune and I watched her slim form move so gracefully in her green dress. She caught me staring and smiled innocently. "What?"</p><p>I let go of the suitcases, letting them fall to the floor as I rushed forward to take her face in my hands and kiss her fiercely. She gasped a little but then dropped her bag, placing her palms around my neck. I finally pulled back and saw her beaming face. "What was that for?" she asked quietly, her lips still pink.</p><p>I grinned. "I just love you. A lot."</p><p>She smiled wider, her cheeks glowing. "I love you too." She kissed me again, standing on her toes, and we broke apart when the elevator doors opened at the end of the hall.</p><p>John Smith sneered at us as he stepped out, making his way to my dorm. "Get a room, dykes."</p><p>My blood immediately began to boil with rage and my face heated up. I clenched my fist and wrenched myself out of Giselle's warm grasp to rush after him. "You son of a -" I started angrily, but there was a tug on my arm.</p><p>"Mulan," Giselle said to me, and when I turned around I saw a pleading look in her eyes. She gave the slightest shake of her head. I dropped my fists, but was pleased to see the small bit of fear on John's face. Giselle brought me back to her to put her arm around my waist, picking up my bags as I stared Smith down some more.</p><p>Giselle then turned to him. "We're a straight couple, by the way." My mouth then hung open. She came back to me, leaving John sputtering and she pulled me into the elevator.</p><p>"W-what do you mean?" I asked her, astonished.</p><p>She shrugged, looking up at me. "You're a boy, I'm a girl. That's a straight couple."</p><p>I couldn't help but kiss her again. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We landed in the Hohhot Baita in Northern China 20 hours later, plus the 16 hour time difference. I was used to the jetlag, but I could tell Giselle was about to fall asleep on me. Nevertheless, she cheerfully greeted my parents when they picked us up after getting our baggage. My mom held her arms out to me, engulfing me in a hug and crying, "木蘭！ 親愛的 你好嗎？ 航班怎麼樣？ 這是你的朋友嗎？ 她很漂亮!"</p><p>"Mom, Mom, try to speak English so that Giselle understands. Please? I'm okay, the flight was good, and this is Giselle. Yes, she is beautiful," I said, kissing my mom's cheek.</p><p>"Oh, yes, yes, of course. Hello, Giselle, we welcome you to our home! You must be very tired, yes? I am Fa Li, Mulan's mother. This is her father, Fa Zhou," she said with a cheerful smile. She was always so happy. I was so going to disappoint her if she ever found out about all my dishonors.</p><p>My father bowed his head at Giselle, who curtseyed, which I hoped he wouldn't take as insulting. I gave him a small kiss on the cheek, bowing my head in respect. "My father doesn't know much English, so I will translate for you," I told Giselle quietly.</p><p>She nodded, beaming at my parents as my mom bustled to take one of Giselle's bags.</p><p>We followed them to the car, my mom driving and chattering away, Giselle assisting her in English and me translating a few things. It felt good to be home. "I think you're going to like the Ma Po Tofu, I told my mom you're vegan," I said to Giselle as she helped unload the trunk, gushing about my country.</p><p>Her eyes widened. "Oh, dear, I hope I'm not causing trouble -"</p><p>I touched her arm. "No, not at all. It's fine. Here, I'll show you to my room."</p><p>We stepped into my house and I stopped to inhale the familiar smell, smiling a bit. I led Giselle to my room, which had been tidied a bit since I left. "你好, 小弟弟!" I exclaimed, greeting my dog Little Brother who ran up to me. I introduced him to Giselle, and they hit it off right away. She was magic with animals. I set up the pull-out couch and made the bed with her as Giselle sang a happy little tune. She then hugged me tightly, resting her chin on my still-bound chest (I hoped my parents hadn't noticed my lack of boobs).</p><p>"I love it here," she said softly, and she looked at me sincerely. I smiled.</p><p>"I love you being here," I responded. We walked back into the living room after I took off my binder.</p><p>"Mulan," my father said in Mandarin, looking at me firmly. "Your hair."</p><p>My chest constricted. I had known this was bound to happen. I reached up to touch the shoulder-length ends of my once-prideful locks. My father had once told me that my hair was the only redeeming quality about me.</p><p>Giselle looked at me with caution, glancing at my father who had a harsh grip on his cane. "Yeah," I replied timidly. "I thought it would be...cute. Are-are you mad?"</p><p>My mom entered quickly, sensing the tension from the kitchen and she put a hand on my dad's shoulder. He kept staring down at me, and my blood rushed in my ears. Giselle made a small movement towards me, and I willed her to freeze. "Of course not, sweetie. It looks beautiful," my mom forced out in Mandarin, smiling. I could tell she didn't like it now, but she would get used to it. My dad was furious.</p><p>He shook my mother's hand off and stomped to his room, his cane clacking like a third angry leg.</p><p>I sank slowly into a chair, putting my face in my hands and my short black hair falling forward. Giselle sat next to me, rubbing my back. Mom disappeared back into the kitchen. "I can't ever tell them anything about myself," I said in a whisper, fighting down tears.</p><p>"Maybe with time you could. I'm sure they'd grow used to it," Giselle comforted me, her hand on my thigh.</p><p>My eyes pooled and I shook my head. "They'd disown me. I'd be a dishonor. I just...I just have to pretend to be someone else with them. They'd hate me."</p><p>I stood up and walked to my room, shutting the door before Giselle came after me, lying softly in my bed next to me and hugging me as I cried the rest of the night. </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>I lay on my bed, unmoving, staring at the bland, white ceiling for what seemed like hours after I finished my last final. I couldn't stop thinking about Jack, but it wasn't my normal thinking about Jack. I felt uneasy. I was making things between us weird, and I think he wanted to dump me. I didn't know if my roommates were in the dorm or not, but I still opened my mouth to speak. "I think Jack's going to break up with me."</p><p>There was silence. "What?" someone said judgmentally, confusion laced in their voice. I couldn't tell whether it was Tiger or Anya.</p><p>"I'm making things weird," I continued, not moving.</p><p>"How?" she asked, and I finally gathered the energy to sit up. Tiger was lying in her bed, one earbud out and staring at me with an unbelieving expression.</p><p>"I'm so clingy, Tiger. He's getting annoyed with me, and I feel like...we don't like each other as much anymore," I confided, running a hand through my hair.</p><p>Tiger Lily took the other earbud out of her ear and flipped onto her stomach to glare at me. I shrunk a little bit. "I don't think he's getting annoyed with you, Elsa."</p><p>"How do you know?" I asked her, looking up. "He avoids me, and I can tell he wants to break up with me."</p><p>"I thought you two were good again?" she asked. It was two weeks after the Winter Formal, and we had gone on a date to the Christmas tree farm. It was uneventful and awkward.</p><p>"I thought we were too," I told Tiger, desperation building in my voice. "But it feels...weird. I don't know. We haven't been the same. Ever since the talent show, when he didn't go after me."</p><p>She tilted her head. "You guys have been dating for...eleven months. Things are bound to die down."</p><p>I fiddled with my bedspread. "I haven't said 'I love you' in weeks," I said quietly, my voice cracking a bit.</p><p>There were a few beats of pause. "Then do it," Tiger said simply. I looked up at her to see her bold face smirking back at me. "Tell him you love him. I mean, don't you?"</p><p>I was frozen for a second, before hurriedly answering, "Yes, of course, I just....what if he doesn't love me anymore?"</p><p>Tiger thought. I could tell she was restraining herself from calling me stupid. "Maybe it's time to take a break from dating each other for a while," she suggested.</p><p>I gasped. "What?"</p><p>"You know, take a break from being together for a few weeks. It could do you some good. Like Ross and Rachel, but without the cheating."</p><p>I pondered the thought for a few seconds. "Do you think that would help?"</p><p>She shrugged and glanced at her phone, which had just received a message. "Might as well try. If it doesn't work, go back to dating. Or break up. Or just don't go on a break and just ride it out."</p><p>I bit the inside of my lip. "Do you think he wants to take a break?" I asked her quietly.</p><p>Tiger rolled her eyes. "Elsa, I really don't know. Maybe. It seems like you guys depend on each other too much. Try some independence for a while, I think it could really do both of you some good."</p><p>"You mean I depend on him."</p><p>Tiger Lily looked at the ceiling in thought. "Not necessarily," she said. I knew she didn't mean it. "Just suggest it, okay, Els?"</p><p>I nodded, growing more confident in the idea. It could do us some good. He could regain feelings for me and I could get my act together...we would return as happy as ever! "Okay!" I exclaimed, and I pulled out my phone typing a message to him. "I'm going to talk to him right now."</p><p>"All right, you do that, babe. Now I'm going to take a nap."</p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>I stepped out of the shower, wrapping my towel around my waist. I wiped away the condensation on the mirror to gaze at my pale face, my wet frosty-colored hair plastered to my forehead. I took a breath and pushed my hair back, practicing a smile. "Elsa," I started, straightening up. "I'm sorry."</p><p>I paused, looking down at my feet as I shook my head. No, I can't sound too desperate. I'm the one who needs to be strong in this relationship. I know she can't be. That's why we can't break up, and that's why I'm asking her to give me another chance.</p><p>"Elsa, I'm sorry. I wanted to say that I'm sorry for making you do the talent show, and not running after you after you hit Hans, and not supporting you...Crap." Why was apologizing so hard? I didn't do it often, that's for sure, and when I did, all the words came out all jumbled up and awkward.</p><p>I looked into my reflection again. Water was starting to drip down the mirror. "I think we need each other. You need me. And so I don't want to break up. I promise that I'll start being less pushy."</p><p>I sighed and got dressed, leaving my thoughts alone in my head as I muttered pathetic apologies over and over again. I walked out of the bathroom, steam flowing out behind me, and dropped my towel on the ground. I picked up my phone to read Elsa's new text.</p><p>meet at tree?</p><p>sure, I replied, and started pulling on some shoes.</p><p>"I'm going to talk to Elsa," I told Hiccup, who was packing to leave for home for winter break. I was supposed to leave with the Arendelles in a few hours. He glanced up, confused. "I'm going to apologize to her."</p><p>"Okay?" he responded, quirking an eyebrow. "Am I involved in this somehow?"</p><p>I glanced at him and shook my head absently. "No, no. Sorry. See you later, man."</p><p>"Uh, bye," Hiccup said, and I could feel him watching me as I walked briskly out of the door.</p><p>I found my steps moving forward faster, with increasing urgency. I knew that this was going to go right. We couldn't break up, not after everything we've been through. This was going to be fine.</p><p>I crossed the dorms' lawn towards the lake and the tree, and I saw a small glimpse of white hair leaning up against it. I immediately smiled and broke into a short run towards my girlfriend. "Elsa!" I called, and she turned her head towards me. I waved at her with a grin, and she gave me an uneasy one back. She was just nervous. I finally reached her and began to catch my breath. "Hey."</p><p>"Hi, Jack," she said quietly. She was hugging herself and crossing her legs, shivering.</p><p>"You cold?" I asked, automatically beginning to take off my sweatshirt for her.</p><p>But she held out a hand. "No, no, I'm fine. Um, I wanted to talk really quickly." My face fell when she didn't automatically reply with our old catchphrase, 'the cold never bothered me anyway,' but I shook it off.</p><p>My heart sparked at her words. "Yeah, me too."</p><p>She took a deep breath, her blue eyes searching mine. We didn't seem to share the same excitement. "I hope it's about the same thing," she murmured. My heart skipped. She probably wanted to make up too.</p><p>"I -" we both started at the same time, making eye contact.</p><p>I chuckled. "You go."</p><p>Elsa shook her head. "No, you, it's okay."</p><p>I took her hand. "Elsa, go ahead." Her hand was cold.</p><p>She glanced at me before pulling it away. She took a deep breath, stared at the ground - "I think we should take a break."</p><p>My heart seemed to stop. I struggled to push any sound out of my mouth, my chest was tightening. "W-what?"</p><p>She didn't meet my eyes. "Things have been weird between us lately, and I was thinking it'd be good to take a break over winter break. It would give us some time to pull ourselves together and not be so stressed and then we'd get back together in January." She bit the nails of her shaking hand.</p><p>I felt like I couldn't comprehend any of this. What was going on? Where did this even come from? Sure, things had been slightly awkward, but not too bad. "I...okay," was all I could muster out.</p><p>She finally looked up, her face falling. "That's not what you were going to say, was it," she said, regret and panic lacing her voice.</p><p>I didn't want her to feel bad, so I immediately blurted, "No, no, that's exactly what I was thinking. Better, even. Yeah, no, this is great. I, uh, I'm glad we're on the same page."</p><p>Something told me she knew I was lying, but she didn't protest. She just looked back at the ground, hugging her arm tighter. I wanted more than anything to kiss her as hard as I could to try to change her mind, but I knew that would make her more anxious.</p><p>Something rang in the back of my mind. "You said over break...does that mean I won't stay at your place?"</p><p>Elsa gasped and looked up at me in distress, her blue eyes widening. "Oh, god, Jack, I totally forgot-- I'm sorry--no, of course you can stay at my place--this was a stupid idea--"</p><p>I held my hands out. "Hey, no, it's chill. Hiccup offered for me to stay with him, so I'll do that. It's no big deal, it'll be easier that way."</p><p>Elsa rubbed her forehead. "I'm so sorry."</p><p>"It's okay, I'll be okay. And I'm assuming this applies to Paris too?" I asked. The class trip was at the end of winter break, with a few days cutting into the beginning of our semester.</p><p>She gasped again, putting her hands to her mouth. "Oh, no! Oh, gosh, this was a bad idea, I forgot about Paris--"</p><p>I put a hand hesitantly on her shoulder for comfort. "Hey, how 'bout we just figure it out when we get there, okay? It's gonna be fine."</p><p>She nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry, Jack."</p><p>I forced a smile. "Hey, we're not breaking up, right?"</p><p>She didn't smile back. She suddenly got a text on her phone, and once she looked at it she said, "It's Anna, she says the taxi is here to pick us up. I've got to go."</p><p>I nodded, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you in Paris," I said sadly. The City of Love. I watched as she rushed away without looking back. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Hey, can I still crash at your place?" I asked immediately upon opening my dorm door. Hiccup sat up.</p><p>"You okay?"</p><p>I collapsed face down onto my bed, hiding my tears from my friend. "We're on a break," I told him, muffled from the pillow.</p><p>Hiccup paused. "Oh. I'm sorry, Jack. Of course you can stay with me. My dad will be here in fifteen, so I'll start packing for you."</p><p>I didn't care anymore. I started sobbing into the pillow, preparing for the loneliest three weeks of my life. </p><p> </p><p>HICCUP</p><p>The ride home was incredibly awkward. My dad wouldn't stop trying to talk to Jack, who was obviously still torn up. His cheeks were still a little wet from tears, and he stared blankly out the window. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as my dad asked happily, "So, Jack, how's that girlfriend of yours? Elsa, isn't it? She seems like a nice lass, aye?"</p><p>Jack didn't blink, didn't respond. I coughed. "Um, Dad, this isn't a good time. How about some music, okay?"</p><p>He proceeded to begin to play hard metal Scottish rock. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Hiccup's home!" my dad yelled as he burst out of the car.</p><p>Jack and I were met with a roar of my town. We were basically an entire town of Scottish families. We married into other Scottish families only, and our hobbies included hunting and yelling, fighting, drinking, and telling tales of our old folklore: dragons. We are obsessed with dragons. We went on hunts, played games, sang songs all about them. That was the most interesting thing about our town, and our town was pretty...insane.</p><p>"And!" I called over the noise of my friends and family, "This is my friend Jack Frost who will be staying with me over break," I introduced, putting a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>The people yelled excitedly again in welcome. My dad pushed him forward into the throng of big-handed, strong, rowdy Scots, and I prayed he wouldn't get his ribs broken.</p><p>After the small reception, I showed Jack to my house and to the extra room in which he would be staying. His eyes widened a bit and I studied him looking over the room. "It's small, but -"</p><p>"Are you kidding?" he said, running his hands through his hair and stepping forward. "This - I thought that I'd just be on the couch, but this is way more. Thank you, Hiccup. It really means a lot."</p><p>I shook my head, rubbing my neck. I hadn't considered what he had done if I hadn't let him stay with me. "It's nothing, Jack. You can always come here."</p><p>He nodded, and didn't look at me. I could tell he was tearing up again. "Dinner will be ready soon, so I'll come and get you if you want to unpack first."</p><p>I walked out of the room and down the stairs, where there was more noise. "Astrid!" My heart skipped. Astrid was home. I hurried down the last two steps and pushed myself into the crowd. Standing in front of her family's car was Astrid. We lived in the same town. When I had gone to Dreamworks and she was less than nice to me and Jack, I ignored her when we went home, and she ignored me. But now, things were different. I had taken her to the Winter Formal and we'd talked at the Diner every Friday. I felt much different towards her.</p><p>I finally squeezed through the heavy Scots and emerged to see her. Her eyes locked with mine and I grinned, running towards her and wrapping my arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. The people around us fell silent, and then we heard a "What the f-?" and a small kid going "Oooooh!" excitedly.</p><p>I blushed and let her go, and she was smirking. "Long time no see," she said.</p><p>I smiled. It had been a week. "Yeah. Uh, this is very awkward. Let me take your bags?" I stammered.</p><p>She laughed. "Sure." I rushed to the trunk as everyone else muttered about us, contemplating the two teenagers who, as of autumn, hated each other. I struggled to take the biggest bag, and Astrid laughed and grabbed it from me. "Here," she said, giving me a smaller one. I shrunk and smiled, embarrassed, and followed her into her large house. I hauled the back into her room, which was just as I expected: a little empty, but with posters of bands hung on the walls and a cool record player in the corner.</p><p>"You like music a lot?" I asked, setting her bag on her grey bed as she motioned.</p><p>Her face lit up. "I love it! Queen, The Cure, The Rolling Stones. What about you?"</p><p>I looked around, barely knowing any of these bands' music. But I replied, "Oh, yeah, me too! They're great. I just love it when they...you know, play that music! That...rock?"</p><p>She smiled at me, I had a feeling she knew I was lying, so I blushed. "Here," she said, patting the bed.</p><p>I pointed to myself. "M-me?"</p><p>She rolled her eyes and said, "Duh," before making her way over to the records. She picked one out and put it decisively onto the stand, turning it on and placing the needle. She came to sit by me, falling back into the blankets and smiling. She suddenly yelled out with the singer, startling me. I slightly recognized it, from a TV show. I quickly determined that it was called something like "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Astrid sang along, and eventually stood up to dance around, her blond hair falling out of its ponytail. She mimed the guitar for me, making me laugh.</p><p>As much as I didn't want it to end, Astrid's mom yelled from downstairs, "Astrid! Your friends are home!"</p><p>"Oh, good! Come on!" She left the music blasting and grabbed my sweaty hand, almost dragging me down her stairs and out the door. As we rushed outside, a large Uber pulled up right in front of us. Four loud people clambered out, yelling, and I stopped in my tracks. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs, the only other sophomores in this town. They attended Dreamworks with Astrid, and always made fun of me for not fitting in with our people. I quickly let go of Astrid's hand.</p><p>"Guys!" she shouted, seeming to forget me as she ran towards them, her arms out. As I watched the five of them act like they literally hadn't seen each other since this morning, which they had, I tried to stealthily walk back towards my house. It didn't work for long.</p><p>"Hey, is that Hiccup Haddock the Third?" Tuffnut called from behind me, making me flinch. I slowly turned around to face them, scrunching up my face and waiting to be attacked with not-so-playful smacks.</p><p>"Guys, go easy," Astrid warned them, holding out an arm that hindered the twins' charge at me.</p><p>The four of them looked at her like she was crazy. I honestly didn't know why she was doing this either. "What? Do you have a crush on him or something?" Snotlout said with a snort, looking me up and down.</p><p>Astrid glanced at me. "N-no, it's just we should stop ganging up on him, that's all. He's nice. Just leave him alone, okay?"</p><p>The four of them looked at me, like they were contemplating whether to do so or not. Eventually, Astrid put her arm down, and they didn't run after me. I took a step back as the chubby, blond Fishlegs took a few steps towards me. I couldn't read his face, and watched, almost cringing, as he brought his hand up. He held it out to me and I stared at me, ready to shield myself.</p><p>"Hi," he said, then cracked a smile. "I'm Fishlegs."</p><p>I looked at him with wide eyes, then took his hand to shake it. "H-hi, Fishlegs. I'm Hiccup."</p><p>He nodded happily and then tottered away to his friends, who gave me one last look before turning around and walking away from me, leaving me stunned. Snotlout threw his arm around Astrid's shoulders.</p><p>I turned slowly, still not trusting them, and walked back to my house. I sank into my couch, silently staring at the blank TV. I was torn from my trance with the ringing of my phone.</p><p>I pulled it out to see my screen filled with the face of a redhead, wearing her curly hair in a wild bun and pounds of horrible makeup caking her face, done by me at 3 AM with Giselle's products. Merida was calling me. We hadn't talked much since the talent show, two months ago. We were both very stubborn, and only really interacted when we ate lunch with our friend group. Ever since she had revealed to me that she was asexual, I'd wanted to apologize to her for lashing out and making things about me, and also hijacking her dangerous talent show act, but whenever I had tried to talk to her, she had pretended she didn't hear me. Now she was trying to FaceTime me.</p><p>I quickly answered, holding the phone up to get a better angle. I nervously waited as the lines connected, and then her blurry face appeared. Her hair was in two braids and she was wearing her glasses, her hood of her favorite jacket atop her head. She smiled anxiously when she saw me. "Hey, Hiccup."</p><p>"Merida, hi. Is everything okay?" I asked hurriedly, studying her.</p><p>She scoffed. "Yeah, dumbass. Ay just...Ay missed you."</p><p>My heart leapt, but I pushed it down. I couldn't feel for her like that anymore. For her sake and for mine. "I missed you too," I said, a bit breathless.</p><p>"Um. Ah guess whit Ah wanted tae say was...Ay'm pure sorry abit gettin' sae radge at ye. It was uncalled fur, an' Ay'm sorry. Ay still want tae be yer mukker." She took a breath, and I knew apologizing was hard for her. Although I could barely understand a word she said in her specific Scottish dialect.</p><p>I didn't respond for a moment, a smile spreading over my face. "You do?" I asked quietly, trying to stop myself from grinning.</p><p>She smiled, laughing at me. "Ay guess. As long as ya don't try to kiss me in my sleep or somethin'," she joked, her eyes growing brighter.</p><p>I chuckled, standing up because I didn't know what to do with my excitement. "Yes!" I shouted, punching the air with the phone.</p><p>"Hey, calm down! God, you're embarrassing, ya know that?" she said, grinning as she put her head in her hand.</p><p>I smirked at her. "I'm your embarrassing best friend. I'M HER EMBARRASSING BEST FRIEND!" I screamed into the house, jumping.</p><p>"SHUT UP, HICCUP!" my dad yelled from the other room. Merida burst into laughter, snorting.</p><p>"Ah, good old Fadder Haddock," she said fondly. I laughed and started to talk to her, but my dad interrupted again.</p><p>"Hiccup, be quiet and get Jack! We're havin' tatties an' neebs, ye hear?"</p><p>I deflated, rolling my eyes at my father. "Jack's there?" Merida asked, raising her eyebrow.</p><p>I sighed. "Yeah, he and Elsa are on a 'break.' I'll tell you everything later, okay? Gotta go."</p><p>"Got ya. See ya later, best friend," she said winking.</p><p>"See ya later, best friend," I repeated and hung up, feeling better than I had in months. </p><p> </p><p>JACK</p><p>I was lying in the bed Hiccup's family had provided for me, scrolling through my album of pictures that I had exclusively for Elsa and I. I had planned to use them in an elaborate one-year anniversary present for her. It would fall in Paris. Suddenly her face appeared on my screen, startling me. But then I realized it wasn't her face. It was her sister's.</p><p>I hesitated a bit before answering Anna's call. "Hey," I said, as her face popped up on my screen.</p><p>"Jack!" she exclaimed, as if she hadn't been the one to call me. "Merry Christmas! How are you?"</p><p>I shrugged. "Okay. You? How are you and your parents?"</p><p>"Oh, we're good here. Mom and Dad really miss you, though! I think they look forward to seeing you more than me and Elsa!"</p><p>I gave a complimentary smile. "Um, how is Elsa?"</p><p>She sighed. "She's...she's not good. It's like we're going backwards. She's been locked in her room all break. I haven't seen her for more than an hour since we got here."</p><p>My heart sank. Was it my fault? "I'm sorry. I shouldn't text her, should I?" I asked, false hope building.</p><p>Anna bit her lip. "I don't think so, Jack."</p><p>I didn't say anything, and looked down at the bedspread as we sat in an uncomfortable silence. "Kristoff is here, though," she said to break the awkwardness.</p><p>"Oh, really?"</p><p>"Yeah, and he brought his dog!" she yelled, getting up and hurriedly calling, "Sven! Sven, come here boy!" She was grinning and turned the camera to a large German Shepherd-looking dog who started licking her face as she giggled. He was fluffy and greyish, and when he looked at me, he stuck his tongue out goofily.</p><p>I smiled. "Hey, Sven!" I said, waving. "How's Olaf?"</p><p>She laughed. "His new thing is fire. If we have a fire going in the fireplace, he sits right by it, it's like he wants to melt! It's so cute."</p><p>I laughed with her, and then we fell into another uncomfortable silence. "I wish you were here," she said softly, looking down. My heart broke even further. Anna was a sister to me.</p><p>I nodded. "I do too. But maybe this'll be good. Just...update me on Elsa, okay?"</p><p>She nodded. "I will. Oh, text me Hiccup's address, my mom wants to send you both presents."</p><p>"Oh, tell her she doesn't have to-"</p><p>"Jack," Anna said sternly, almost scaring me.</p><p>I held my hands up. "Okay, okay, I will. Tell them I miss them, okay? And say hey to Kristoff. I'll see you for Paris, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, definitely. I'm so excited!"</p><p>I tried to share her enthusiasm. I could only imagine Elsa and I on the top of the Eiffel Tower, where I had imagined kissing and hugging her just a week before. Now I was supposed to survive it alone. "Me too. Merry Christmas, Anna. Love you."</p><p>"Love you too, Jack. Stay safe."</p><p>I nodded and waved, ending the call and all feelings of warmth vanishing from my empty room. Elsa's face appeared again. I put my phone down. </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: howww are there 43 chapters??? that's kinda crazy. anyway. hi! how are y'all? I go back to school on Tuesday, so I'm glad I'm getting more writing done before then! how was your break? if you couldn't tell, I went a little crazy with an online Scottish slang translator, LMAO</p><p>so mulan introduced giselle to his parents in china, but his parents don't even approve of mulan's shorter hair, how would they feel about him dating giselle? identifying as a male? elsa decided to take a break from jelsa, because she feels like they are too shaky, while jack wanted to make up with elsa. he stays with hiccup instead of the arendelles, while elsa is shut in her room. hiccup is acting different around astrid and things are getting better with the other teenagers in their town. he is friends with merida again! bet you forgot about that, didn't you lol?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite song at this very moment?</p><p>My Answer: Oblivion by Grimes :)</p>
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<a name="section0044"><h2>44. Chapter 44</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BELLE</p><p>"Good morning, Estelle," I greeted the familiar nurse, who smiled widely at me.</p><p>"Ah, bonjour, Belle!" she said in my mother language. She was my father's main nurse, as he only remembered French. "Comment ça-va?"</p><p>"Je vais bien, merci. Et tu?" I responded, the words feeling warm and welcoming to my mouth.</p><p>"J'ai été mieux," she said, which earned a sympathetic smile from me. Estelle switched to English. "Your father has been excited to see you."</p><p>"Good. I think I'll say hello to everyone before, though, if that's all right?"</p><p>"Be my guest."</p><p>I waved and walked down the first hall, knocking on a door and slowly entering. Each patient I greeted seemed to brighten at my face, but some needed reminding of who I was. Old Jamsie tried to throw a clock at me when I walked in, but Granny Red held me in her room for almost twenty minutes to tell me about her grandchild's high school graduation, which she believed was last month, but actually was ten years ago.</p><p>Finally, I knocked softly on the door of my father's room: Maurice Macreaux. "Come in," a nurse said. I opened the door and Nurse Kade smiled at me and exited to give us some space.</p><p>"Hello? Who is it?" my father said in rushed French, his wide eyes glancing around in a flurry.</p><p>"Dad, it's me," I said gently, walking slowly and standing by his bed. "Belle."</p><p>His glazed green eyes looked up at me. They were empty. "Belle?" he asked, after a pause. "Do I know...?"</p><p>But then, something clicked in his brain, and his eyes sparked. "Belle!" he cried, sitting up to embrace me tightly. "Oh, Belle, I'm so glad you're here."</p><p>I released him and pulled up a chair next to his bed as he fiddled nervously with his blanket. It was the one mother had made for him before she passed away, before I knew her. "Why?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"</p><p>My dad flinched, shivering a little and darting his eyes from side to side. "Belle...there's a beast."</p><p>I quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon? A beast?"</p><p>He nodded fervently. "It's keeping me captive. However did you get in here? How did he let you in? The castle...it's a castle, Belle! I had never seen it, but Philippe and I took a wrong turn on the way to the inventor's faire, and we were in the woods! I had nowhere else to go...it was cold and dark, and the castle opened its doors for me, and the furniture..the furniture talked! That footrest right there—it's a dog!" He finished his sputtering French story, clutching my hand tightly and his white face getting closer to mine.</p><p>I tried not to sigh. He was getting worse by the day — I had visited him just two days ago for Christmas, and within that time he had hallucinated this entire story that could potentially be dangerous for him. And what could this beast be?</p><p>But all I could do was put my hand on top of his and say comfortingly, "I'm sure you're safe here. Remember what mother used to say? 'Courage, mon chére.' Be courageous."</p><p>He nodded, seeming to calm down, but by the increasing milkiness of his eyes, I could tell he was only forgetting about his whole story. "Are you excited for Christmas?" he asked distantly.</p><p>I pressed my lips together. "Dad, Christmas was two days ago. Remember?"</p><p>He looked at me, and the lines in his forehead deepened. "Oh...oh, yes, of course. Two days ago." He was lying.</p><p>I looked down sadly before changing the subject. "I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow."</p><p>"Why? I just went, Belle. Stay here in Giverny for a while."</p><p>That was the other thing: he still thought we lived in our small village in France, instead of him in an elderly insane nursing home and me at boarding school. "I know. I just have to go back. It's for school."</p><p>"Oh, all right. To keep your grades up, no? That's my girl. Still on the honor roll, right? I'm proud of you, Belle. You're going to be the next best inventor in the world one day." He seemed to be beaming with pride, and his eyes almost seemed to be back the way they were. Normal. Happy.</p><p>I smiled. "That's right, Dad." My intelligence was the only thing my dad could remember about me. Sometimes he forgot how old I was, he usually couldn't remember my middle name, but at least he was proud of my smarts. That's why I had to do everything I could to prove myself to him, to make him proud.</p><p>I stayed for two hours more, watching Le Meiuller Pâtissier, his favorite baking show (though he was quite confused why the beast had provided a television in his dungeon) and talking to him about school life. Nothing interesting had happened to me the past semester; I got second place at a science fair and competed with Milo Thatch to be the top of my class, and balanced 4 AP courses (which I got A's in). I hadn't attended the school dance, or participated in the Talent Show or anything. I seemed to be a side character in my own life. I hoped Paris would make me feel at home, at least for ten days.</p><p>I finally left with just enough time to catch the train back to Disney High. On the journey, I played my French music and read Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, for the French Literature class I was taking off campus.</p><p>I arrived back at my dorm, and I felt more at home than I have ever had in my life. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>TIANA</p><p>At 4 o'clock in the morning on December 28, I hurried down the steps of the bus after Dean Queen, standing by her anxiously while I watched the students file out, most of them rubbing their eyes from being awakened. The bus driver assisted them in retrieving their luggage from the lower compartment (the Tremaine sisters had an unreasonable amount) and then the dean began calling roll.</p><p>"This way!" she said after everyone was confirmed to be here, and we set off as a sluggish group to meet the students from the other buses in front of the terminal's doors. Minnie took another roll call of all the students, which took about twenty minutes, and then we paraded inside. The front desk workers widened their eyes at the sight of us, and Minnie, Ms. Poppins, Dean Queen, Frollo, Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine and I split up to collect our boarding passes. I was nervous to be in charge of seventeen other students, but most of them were good. The Tremaines and Vanessa were too tired to cause any ruckus for me.</p><p>Everyone lined up to check their luggage. The entire space was flooded with bleary eyed sophomores, some chattering excitedly while others struggled not to fall asleep on people's shoulders. I walked up to a nice looking attendant who met me with a hesitant smile. "Good morning, how can I help you?" she asked. By her name tag, her name was Clarabelle.</p><p>"Hi, my name is Tiana Orleans, I am the Student Body President for the Walt E. Disney High Paris field trip. I'm here to collect the boarding passes for all students last names Sea to Winslowe? I called ahead a few weeks ago."</p><p>"Oh, yes, I have them right here. Pixair airlines, nonstop flight to the Charles de Gaulle airport to France. Boarding is at 7:20 AM,  is that correct?" the woman said, furiously typing on her computer.</p><p>I nodded. "That'd be the one."</p><p>"Last names Sea to what?"</p><p>"Yes ma'am, Winslowe. It should be the last one." I checked my list. "First name Bambi."</p><p>"All right, I'll have them all printed and you can check them for me. Would your students like to start checking their bags?"</p><p>"Yes, thank you." I smiled at the mention of 'my students' and turned to Vanessa to motion for her to set her fancy luggage on the scale. Clarabelle began attaching tags to the suitcases as the students stepped forward. About halfway through, she handed me the pile of boarding passes and I began to scan them carefully.</p><p>"Vanessa. Si and Am. John. Florian. Iridessa. Milo..." I handed them out as the students came to me, carefully examining the correct names and destinations. I would not let anything bad happen on my watch. We finished efficiently, and only Vanessa, Drizella, and Anastasia had to pay the fee for extra baggage. I quickly led them to the open space by the restrooms, where the rest of the administrators and their groups met us.</p><p>"Everything all right, Tiana?" Fairy Godmother  asked me with a smile.</p><p>I nodded, inhaling deeply. Now all we had to do was get through security.</p><p>Ms. Poppins cleared her throat and tapped her heel on the ground, surveying the students who were getting more talkative. They immediately looked up to her, as she held an aura that was even more terrifying than Dean Evie Queen. "Attention students," she said, even though she already had it. "We will be heading through security next. We want this process to be as quick as possible, so if you'd please take out your passports and your boarding passes. Cooperate with all TSA staff, and move as promptly as possible. Now follow Lady Tremaine, stay with your group leaders. Hurry along!"</p><p>The students set off at a march to squish onto the steps of the elevator and fall in line behind some miserable-looking red eye passengers. One by one, divided by group, we each had our passports checked, with only a scare by Tramp who had sworn he had put his in his pocket, when it actually was in his backpack. We all scrunched into the security space, fumbling to remove our shoes and backpacks and place our phones and keys into the baskets to be sent through the detector. We all went through the surrounding security systems, holding our hands up. Meg forgot to remove her metal studded belt and one of the Atlantica sisters had a large necklace on. Esmeralda struggled to take off her pile of bangle bracelets. As the last student, Bambi walked out of the detector, I turned to see everyone sitting down, surrounded by luggage and hassling to put their shoes and accessories back on.</p><p>I checked my watch. Luggage and security had taken about two hours. We still had another before boarding. The administrators and I led everyone through the airport to our gate, A113. Other passengers gawked at us, and some of the students began to get louder, talking and laughing while some of them just complained about how tired they were. I could barely hear them, my heart was too busy bursting with anxiety. I kept checking my watch, even though I knew full well that we were right on time.</p><p>We piled into the waiting seats at the almost-empty gate. "Students, you may walk about and buy breakfast if you'd like. Stay close however. You must be back at this gate, with your luggage at 6:50, do you understand? If you are not, we will be departing without you," Dean Queen warned, with no hint of a smile on her face. People gave uneasy laughs, unsure if she was joking, and hurried away with their friends.</p><p>I collapsed into a chair and sighed, letting the tension in my chest release. "You're doing great, Tiana," Mrs. Minnie told me sincerely, smiling. I returned it.</p><p>"Thank you. I'll just be happy when we board."</p><p>"It's all going well, thanks to you. Are you sure you don't want to eat something? It might help your stress."</p><p>I brought my head up from my palm, and even though I didn't want to walk around, I stood and said, "I think I'll go get a coffee. You sure you'll be all right with the rest?" A few other people had crashed in their chairs. She nodded and waved me away, and I pulled myself through the building, skipping the Starbucks and sitting on a chair of a breakfast and coffee bar, scanning the menu.</p><p>"Good morning, what can I get you?" A tall young man appeared in front of me, skin darker than mine and brown eyes that seemed to shine more than normal. Out of instinct, I blushed.</p><p>"Goodness, you startled me. Good mornin', how are you?" I mentally flinched. Normal people wouldn't ask their coffee barman how they were at 6 AM, they would normally just order coffee. But this man wasn't normal to me.</p><p>He chuckled, throwing his towel over his shoulder. "Fine, and yourself?"</p><p>I sighed. "Tired."</p><p>He nodded, turning to begin making a cappuccino. "Travel can be tiring."</p><p>I laughed. "Especially when you're herdin' around 200 15-year-old students."</p><p>He turned in interest, setting the cup on a saucer. "Are you a teacher?" Something made my chest jump. He thought I was an adult?</p><p>I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, looking down. "Hopefully I will be one day." It wasn't a lie. "Or a chef. Or the president."</p><p>He let out a loud laugh, making me blush harder. "Well, you've got my vote. Did you want coffee?"</p><p>I snapped out of my trance, remembering why I had come. "Oh, yes. I'll take a latte with two shots, please."</p><p>He smiled, and began making it right away. I watched as he skillfully flipped the taps, frothing the milk, and he carefully added a design to the top. I hadn't seen him do that to the other drinks. He slid it over to me and I thanked him, taking a long sip and smiling. It was perfect.</p><p>He leaned onto the counter and studied me as I sipped. "So, where are you flying to?"</p><p>I wiped my lip and put the cup down. "Paris."</p><p>He raised his eyebrows. "Ah, the food capital of the world?"</p><p>I grinned. "Yes, I am so excited. I'm already signed up for two cookin' classes, and I have a reservation for Gusteau's one night."</p><p>The man's jaw dropped. "The best restaurant in Paris? How did you...that's incredible!"</p><p>I smiled even wider. This man knew his food, and that made me even more attracted to him. "I know! I've never been more excited for January 2nd at 8! I got it for two, so I just have to find someone who's willing to go with me. And pay."</p><p>He gave me a slight smirk. "I wish I could go."</p><p>"Me too," I found myself saying, and then hid my red cheeks by taking a drink.</p><p>"Louis!" A strong, crazed looking woman stepped out from the other side of the bar, glaring at the man, who tore his gaze from me. "Do you work here or what? Make more coffee and serve people! That's another strike, mister!"</p><p>He laughed a bit and gave me an apologetic smile. "I never got your name?"</p><p>I grinned. "Tiana. Tiana Orleans."</p><p>"Well, Tiana, I hope you have a wonderful time in Paris. Here." He grabbed my napkin, brushing my fingers in the process, and hurriedly scrawled something on it. He thrust it back at me and dashed off to take more orders. I drained the last of my coffee, left a generous tip, and didn't peek at the napkin before I got back to the gate.</p><p>Maybe we'll meet again, in the Food Capital of the World? (aka the city of love)</p><p>808-499-3408</p><p>-Louis from the airport</p><p>I smiled and clutched the words to my chest. All tension from the morning had disappeared into his smile.</p><p>"Tia!" Lottie's voice shrieked from a few feet away. She came into view holding a venti cup of an iced Starbucks drink. "Tia, Tia, this whole shabang is going swell! No major hiccups, right? What's that you got there?"</p><p>"Oh, nothin'," I said, smoothly stowing the paper in my purse. "Thanks, Lottie, it's been real stressful on me."</p><p>"Oh, babe, you're doin' just fine. You ready for the plane ride? I'm a little upset that they wouldn't let my daddy pay for first class, but I guess it'll be all right. It'll be my first time in those normal seats."</p><p>I smiled at her, my mind wandering. "You'll be okay with Adam?" I asked. She had been insistent on sitting next to him, for some reason.</p><p>She grinned, but tried to hide it. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be perfectly fine. And you can get the chance to know Naveen!"</p><p>I groaned. "Yeah. Wonderful."</p><p>"I'll talk to you later, okay suga? I've got to see if Rosetta is okay, she doesn't look too swell. I'll see you in Par-ee!" she said, giving a squeal and almost spilling her drink. She totted on over to Rosetta Gardener, who looked a little green as she watched the planes take off through the windows. I sat back and pulled out my planner, going over the schedule for the next 12 days once again.</p><p>Finally, the flight attendants started calling for people to be boarded. We were right after the first class and elderly people, and my nerves began to spike as we filed on, me staying until the very end with the administrators to check if everyone was there. I got on after Snow White disappeared down the jetway. Scanning my boarding pass, I took a breath before walking down to the plane, my hands shaking. Flying wasn't exactly my cup of tea. I liked to know how things worked, and probabilities and certainties. Planes, flying thousands of feet in the air did not provide that. I carefully patted the plane three times before stepping on.</p><p>I walked down the aisle of stuffy-looking first class passengers, who looked thoroughly annoyed at the noise we students had supplied while boarding. We  were all buzzing with nerves, but the rich people in the front couldn't seem to care less. We moved slowly until I finally arrived at my seat, 52B.</p><p>"Orleans?" I groaned and rolled my eyes.</p><p>"Good mornin', Naveen. Would you mind?" I placed my carry-on into the overhead bin and he stepped out of the aisle seat, eyeing me as I squeezed into my cramped middle seat next to Audrey Rameriez. She gave me a reluctant smile. I sat down with a sigh, closing my eyes as I felt Naveen sit down again. I could tell he was staring at me.</p><p>I opened one eye to stare back at him judgingly. "Wasn't it you in charge of the seating, Miss President?" he asked, smirking.</p><p>"I can assure you, this was not my first choice. I simply didn't want to subject anyone else to the discomfort of sitting next to you for 11 and a half hours," I responded, barely looking at him.</p><p>"I see," he said. He leaned back, still smirking, and closed his eyes, leaning his seat back. I rolled my eyes and tried to sleep.</p><p>The speaker crackled and the pilot began speaking in a heavy French accent. "Good morning passengers, thank you for flying Pixair Airlines. This is a nonstop flight to the Charles de Gaulle airport in France. The flight will be approximately eleven hours and forty-two minutes, and we will arrive at four o'clock in the morning on Friday..." She proceeded to repeat the message in French, which I was quite pleased to find I understood.</p><p>At around 8 o'clock, we began to taxi to the runway, and too soon, the plane started to barrel down at speeds I was frightened to know. I clutched the armrests and squeezed my eyes shut until I felt my stomach drop as we lifted into the air. Some students cheered, earning shushes from the teachers, and I pressed myself safely into my seat.</p><p>"Scared?" Naveen asked, causing me to open my eyes a bit. He looked relaxed as ever, pulling up his satin eye mask to glance at me.</p><p>I grit my teeth. "Just uncomfortable."</p><p>He gave me a small smile. "We will not crash."</p><p>I squinted at him, my heart jumping as we bounced a bit. "How do you know?"</p><p>He shrugged. "I don't."</p><p>I scoffed and turned my head back forward, closing my eyes. We eventually reached a cruising height and I put in some calming classical music to listen to, falling asleep almost instantly.</p><p>When I woke up, we had been in the air for two hours. Almost 10 more to go. I sighed and pulled out my planner again, studying the map of Paris I had pasted in. Audrey was watching a movie and Naveen was playing some silly game on his phone. He glanced over at my book.</p><p>"What are you most excited for in Paris?" he asked suddenly.</p><p>I looked up at him, a bit surprised. "Sorry?"</p><p>"I mean, you had to have chosen Paris for a reason. Why?" He seemed genuinely curious.</p><p>I shifted in my seat, fingering the pages of my organized journal. "To be honest? The food. I...It's a dream of mine to open a restaurant there. I love to cook, I love to eat. It's the food capital of the world."</p><p>Naveen gazed at me for a moment, and I felt like I was being studied. "Oh." He leaned back into his chair and started his game again.</p><p>I frowned. "What do you mean, 'oh?' Does my answer not satisfy you?"</p><p>He shrugged. "No, it's just...Cooking is boring to me, that's all."</p><p>I gasped, offended even though I shouldn't have been. "What? Cooking is borin' to you? How? It's one of the most beautiful and important arts there is!" I exclaimed, feeling excitement build in me.</p><p>He faced me again, an irking grin forming on his lips. I hardened my eyes. "And what are you going to get out of this dream? Constant work? It sounds terrible. You are slaving away just to have it consumed instantly, people don't even savor it," he said arrogantly, his eyes flicking between the two of mine. I sat up, ready to defend my dream, my father's dream.</p><p>"It makes people happy. Listen, if you don't appreciate it-"</p><p>"No, tell me why I should appreciate it. I sincerely want to know." He condescendingly placed his folded hands atop his tray table.</p><p>I huffed, glaring up at him. "Okay. Okay, fine. I'm taking two cookin' classes there. You come along and learn to cook real French food, and you will learn what a pleasure it is."</p><p>He snickered. "Do you even know French?"<br/>I almost screeched in frustration, but instead took a breath and said, completely fluently, "Oui, et je peux supposer que vous ne le faites pas parce que vous êtes trop égocentrique pour apprendre tout ce qui ne vous concerne pas." (Yes, and I can assume you do not because you are too self centered to learn anything that does not concern yourself.)</p><p>Naveen let out a laugh, closing his eyes before looking down at me again. "Au contraire, le français est ma première langue. Vous ne devriez pas penser que vous êtes meilleur que tout le monde, parce que beaucoup de temps, les gens sont tout aussi compétents que vous êtes, peut-être encore plus." (On the contrary, french is my first language. You shouldn't think you're better than everyone, because a lot of the time people are just as competent as you are, maybe even more so.)</p><p>I gasped, not only at his rudeness but at his perfect French. I felt my face burning up in embarrassment and I quickly looked down. "I-I'm sorry, Naveen. You're right, I shouldn't have been so judgemental." He smirked and sat back in his seat, triumphant. "Will you still come to the cookin' class with me?" I asked, hoping to make up for my words.</p><p>He stayed silent, making my heart pound. I could feel that he was just toying with me, but I still wrung my hands before he sighed and said, "Well, I guess."</p><p>I smiled a bit and sat back, putting in my music and dreaming of the Food Capital of the World. </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL</p><p>I plunked into my seat, which was in between Rosetta and Nala Headley. I smiled at them, but Rosetta seemed to be too caught up in her nerves to acknowledge me. "Hi, I'm Rapunzel," I said to Nala. "I don't think we've been introduced."</p><p>She smiled at me politely. "Hey, I'm Nala. I like your hair."</p><p>I had put it in a messy, long braid so it'd be easier to put over my shoulder so I didn't sit on it. "Thanks! I love your necklace!" It was gold, with a childlike form of a baby lion. She thanked me and turned back to her texts.</p><p>Curiosity got the best of me. I hesitantly glanced over at her phone to see why she was smiling so much.</p><p>"Flynn Dumbass Rider" was the contact name, followed by two pink heart emojis. My heart dropped as I studied the profile picture, a small image of Flynn himself pulling an odd face, almost flirting with the camera. Normally I would smile at this, but as I watched Nala text happily, teasing him and then switching to Snapchat to send him goofy pictures, I couldn't feel happy.</p><p>I was glad they were happy. </p><p> </p><p>EDWARD</p><p>I bid goodbye to Kuzco as he gave me a look before sitting down next to John Smith and Tarzan. I continued down the aisle, looking right and left for my seat 39E. I stopped to look down at the student in the window seat. He was small and chubby, with short black hair and a dark red t-shirt. He turned around to see me, his face lighting up. "Edward?" he asked in awe. <br/>I raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"</p><p>He shook his head, scotting closer to the window to make room for me and patting the middle seat, in which I sat in reluctantly. "I'm LeFou d'Amor, I'm Gaston's best friend."</p><p>A small bit of recognition flashed through my mind. "Ah, yes, his overly-eager crony? The waterboy in football games?"</p><p>LeFou nodded excitedly. "I would just like to say that you're like an idol to me."</p><p>I was growing more confused by the second. "You're welcome? I'm not really sure what you mean. If you're talking about my hair, I'm sorry but I can't tell you what I use."</p><p>"No, no! Well, I mean, your hair is beautiful, but I was talking about your homosexuality," he said, turning red and grinning at me with his gapped teeth.</p><p>"Oh," was all I could say, looking around to see if anyone would come and sit next to me to save me from this poor boy. "Well, thanks."</p><p>But LeFou would not leave me alone. He grabbed my arm, making me shift away from him. He moved his face closer to mine, and for a horrible moment I was convinced he was about to try to kiss me. But he opened his mouth and said in a loud whisper, "I'm gay too."</p><p>I leaned away, trying to make a polite face while quietly prying his fingers off of me. "Um, that's lovely, but I'm not interested."</p><p>LeFou fell back into his seat, giggling bashfully. "No, not you. Gaston."</p><p>I held back a gasp, a wave of terror flooding over me at his name in the open. "Oh...um, how do you think he feels about that sort of thing?" I asked, biting my lip. I replayed Gaston's attack on me and Kuzco at homecoming, throwing slurs and spitting at us for dancing together.</p><p>LeFou smiled a little bit. "I'm not sure, really. But he's been my best friend for years, so I'm sure he'll understand!"</p><p>I cringed at his naivety, picturing Gaston beating this small, innocent boy up for his feelings. Glancing around, I leaned close to LeFou with a somber look on my face. "Look, LeFou. I'm sure you're a nice guy and I'm sure you'll find a boyfriend one day, but Gaston isn't really that...type. At least in my experience."</p><p>I saw LeFou's chubby face fall, all hope draining from his brown eyes. "How...how do you know?"</p><p>I hesitated. "You know Kuzco Pepikrankenitz?" LeFou nodded eagerly, eyes shining in admiration. "Gaston, um, actively attacks us for the way we are. Who knows, it could be because he is gay and he doesn't want to be, but I wouldn't admit your feelings to him right away. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. You understand, don't you?"</p><p>The boy stared up at me for a few beats, and I tried not to see the tears building on his lashline. "Oh," he finally said, and he leaned back into his chair. He didn't speak to me the rest of the flight. </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>I walked down the aisle slowly, glancing anxiously at the students who were already seated. I only got more nervous when I passed all my friends; who in the world was I going to sit next to? Finally I reached my seat, F19. The person in the middle seat looked up at me, and our eyes locked. Hans.</p><p>"Hey, Elsa," he said, surprisingly gently. "You're sitting here?" He began to stand, but I shook my head, averting my eyes. I didn't have the energy to give him my anger.</p><p>"I have the aisle seat, don't get up," I told him, letting some people pass me before I opened the overhead bin. Before I knew it, Hans was taking my bag out of my hands and lifting it into the compartment, shutting it securely and then sliding back into his seat. I stared at him, and he looked back. Something in him had changed. The hostile environment that usually surrounded us seemed to have melted away. "Thanks," I said softly, sinking down into my seat. To be honest, I didn't know if I would have had the strength to lift my bag myself.</p><p>I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but Bianca Gabor appeared to claim the window seat, and Hans and I had to stand up again. As I scooted into the aisle, I felt Hans's hand lightly take my waist.</p><p>When we sat back down, he looked over at me. "I heard you and Jack are on a break," he said. There was no creepy undertone, no mocking sneer at the mention of Jack.</p><p>I took an earbud out. "How did you know that?"</p><p>Hans blushed for a moment. "Anna told me."</p><p>My eyes widened. "She did? Ugh, she -- You're still talking to her?" I inquired. I thought she had cut off contact with him, like I had told her.</p><p>He shrugged, sheepishly. "A bit. Just in the passing halls and in math class."</p><p>"Oh, Anna," I muttered to myself, shaking my head and moving to put my earbud back in until Hans spoke again.</p><p>"Are you doing okay, though? About the break?"</p><p>I stared at him yet again. What was going on? "Um, yeah. Yes. I think so," I answered uncertainly, glancing at my gloves. I saw his eyes trail to them as well, and I couldn't help but think of the time my magic hit him in the head.</p><p>"Are you sure?" he asked, leaning further towards me. I could feel my space bubble closing in, my chest constricting.</p><p>"Why do you care, Hans? Do you want to stalk me again now that Jack's gone? Is that it?" I snapped. "I don't have the energy for this right now."</p><p>He backed up, and genuine apology shone in his blue eyes. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry."</p><p>"Just leave me alone," I told him, turning away and resuming my music, closing my eyes. I squeezed them tight, trying to block out the rest of the world so I could just feel nothing. </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>I sat next to Eric on the bus ride to the airport, and had accidentally fallen asleep on his shoulder, which he said was cute. It made me blush. Now, we were sitting next to each other on the plane ride. He had let me switch seats with him so I could look out the window and told me with a smile, "Feel free to fall asleep again."</p><p>I looked down at my phone while we waited, and Eric bent over his journal to write new music. I looked up to observe my classmates walking down the aisle of seats, and held my breath when I saw Vanessa approach.</p><p>She looked awful. She wasn't wearing her usual full face of makeup, and underneath some concealer her eyebags protruded purple. Her outfit was all black and -- most astonishingly -- sweatpants and a sweatshirt. They hung off of her body like wet drapes, and I was almost convinced that nothing but her skeleton was underneath. She stopped in front of my and Eric's row, and he leaned towards me protectively. I grasped his hand and looked up at Vanessa.</p><p>Vanessa studied the aisle row, glanced at us, then back at the row, then at her ticket. Her face fell into more discontent than before, and she sighed. Heaving her bags into the overhead bin, my concern was made a reality: Vanessa was going to be sitting next to Eric the entire flight.</p><p>She sat down, pulling out her laptop and disregarding the two of us. We sat in silence for half an hour, just watching her carefully, trying to predict when she would scream at us or give us dirty looks or make a scene in front of the entire plane. But she didn't. She sat intently on her laptop, her eyes dead and her cheeks seeming gaunt and lifeless. When the lunch and dinner came, she ordered the pastas but didn't even peel off the plastic. She silently shoved her peanuts and cookies over to Eric's seat, and he shared them with me as we both watched "The Shape of Water" on my seat's screen.</p><p>I eventually paid no mind to Vanessa. If she wasn't going to bother me, I wouldn't bother her. She stayed quiet the whole flight, until Lottie came to visit, bending down in front of her to talk in a low voice. I caught glimpses of the conversation over the roar of the airplane:</p><p>"You doin' okay, suga?"</p><p>Vanessa nods.</p><p>"Do you want me to get ya anythin'? More snacks? A hot water bottle?"</p><p>Vanessa shakes her head.</p><p>"All right. Well, if you need me, just hollah. You know where I am."</p><p>Lottie then rubbed Vanessa's arm and gave her a pat on the shoulder. She shot me a quick, unreadable look before strutting off.</p><p>My time with Eric, however, was wonderful. I hadn't spent so much time with him consecutively, ever. We played a few card games, I taught him how to do a magic trick I learned from one of my sisters, I helped him write some lyrics to his new song. His eyes seemed to sparkle with literal diamonds when he smiled at me. He had one dimple on the left side of his mouth and his eyebrows seemed almost too good to be true.</p><p>I felt like the luckiest girl alive to be sitting with him.</p><p> </p><p>WENDY</p><p>I had asked Jane a few months ago if she could ensure I got a good seat on the plane, and I smiled brightly when I found that Peter and I were right next to her. I even got the window seat! As Peter and I settled into our chairs, we both looked up to see who had stopped to sit in the last seat in our row. Both of our eyes met Tinkerbell's, whose face was already reddening. "Wendy, switch seats with me," Peter commanded, not tearing his menacing gaze from Tinkerbell's face.</p><p>"Peter-" I protested, looking at the back of his head. <br/>"Please," he interrupted. I sighed and picked up my purse as he climbed over to my beloved window seat. I sat in the middle, crossing my arms and Tinkerbell shoved her back up above.</p><p>"I thought you asked Jane for good seats," my boyfriend said lowly to me, but loud enough for Tink to hear.</p><p>"That was when we were friends. God, you're being ridiculous!" I said, not looking at him.</p><p>He touched my wrist. "Wendy, she broke us up so she could steal me!"</p><p>"That doesn't mean you can't be a decent human being towards her!" I cried, and then I turned to face Tink, who angrily stared at the TV screen in front of her, gripping her phone so hard I thought it might break. "Tinkerbell, I am sorry that he is being so childish. I will be kind to you, I promise. I'm not mad at you anymore. Is that all right?"</p><p>She turned to look at me for a moment, and I pushed all my sincerity into my gaze. She did not avert her eyes from mine until she finally said, "Okay." She turned back to pull out a magazine and flip to a random page, still ignoring the both of us.</p><p>"See?" I said, turning back to Peter. "Common human decency."</p><p>Peter humphed and crossed his arms, turning his nose up in the air as Tink did the same on my right. I sighed and sank lower into my uncomfortable chair, massaging my eyelids. This was going to be a long plane ride.</p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: good morninggggg vietnam!!! comin at you with chapter 44 of this slow but steady book, i hope you enjoyed! i'm not gonna recap because i'm too lazy to and it's past my bedtime, so.</p><p>Question of the Chapter: what is your favorite season?</p><p>My Answer: okay well honestly it usually would be winter, but i am totally feeling the spring vibes at the moment, so i have to say spring.</p>
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<a name="section0045"><h2>45. Chapter 45</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>ESMERALDA</p><p>We landed in the early morning, and I was shaken awake by Kida to watch as we soared over the sleeping city of Paris. "All right, Disney students! Listen now!" the Fairy Godmother piped, standing up in the front of the plane and getting all of our attention. I stifled a guffaw as Ms. Hearts's head popped up from her seat, glaring at us with a gloppy face mask covering her skin. "We will all file off quietly and in an orderly manner. Once you are off the plane, please stay in place in one group. Remember to take all of your carry on luggage. Right now, off we go!"</p><p>I stood up, stretching my legs and arms and yawning. "Excuse me," Phoebus said from behind my ear. I felt his hands slide over my waist as he squeezed past me uncomfortably.</p><p>"Excuse you -- get your hands off me, please." I didn't know how I spent the whole flight with him, but luckily Kida was in between us. I gave him a stink eye as he reached up to get his luggage.</p><p>Getting off the plane was slow, but we eventually made it onto the dark, freezing tarmac, where light snow was falling. I threw my hood on, my black puffy hair gathering in front of my face. The administrators herded us into the airport, which was warm and bustling with all kinds of people, even though it was 3 AM.</p><p>I glanced around at my fellow students, practically zombies. Aurora seemed to be sleeping standing up, leaning on Cinderella's shoulder with her hand in Philip's. Anna's red hair was frizzy and Kristoff was laughing as he thumbed some drool off her chin. A familiar face appeared at my shoulder. "Hey, Esme," Milo said, grinning.</p><p>"Oh," I said, exhaling. "Hi Milo. How was the flight?"</p><p>His eyes brightened. "Actually good! I got a lot done. I interpreted this Atlantian document, it turns out it was a weather report -- sunny day, a high of 58 degrees! Isn't that so cool?"</p><p>I could barely understand what he was talking about. I knew he had a fascination with the mythological city of Atlantis, but he was crazily obsessed with it. I sometimes worried about his faith in it. "Yeah," I said, faking enthusiasm. "That's great."</p><p>"Oh, Kida!" he called to my friend beside me. "Did you look at that alphabet chart I sent you?"<br/>What?</p><p>Kida's eyes brightened, and they nodded, moving closer to me so that I was in the middle of two Atlantis nerds, leaning over me to converse excitedly. "Yes, I did! It's very interesting how we have written symbols for 'ch,' 'sh,' and 'th,' like Greek."</p><p>Milo perked up and I rolled my eyes. "Do you know Greek?"</p><p>Kida said, "Yes! Yes, I do, and I'm finding a lot of similarities between my written language and written Greek."</p><p>I furrowed my eyebrows, putting my hand on Kida's arm. "Wait, wait, wait, your language?"</p><p>They looked at me and nodded. "Yes, the language of Atlantis."</p><p>"Kida, you actually believe that?" I asked in shock, laughing a bit.</p><p>They frowned. "Of course. It's my ancestry, my entire home village is Atlantian peoples."</p><p>"I didn't know you actually thought -- what proof --?" I continued, waving my hands about.</p><p>Kida crossed their arms and said, "Look, Esme, if you're going to be rude about it, maybe you should go talk to someone else."</p><p>I scoffed. "Fine! I don't want to hear about your magical city anyway."</p><p>I hoisted up my green messenger bag on my shoulder and quickened my pace, leaving Milo and Kida behind. I was alone for a few steps, before I spotted him. "Quasi! Quasimodo!" I called, shouldering through a couple of people to reach him. He looked up at me with a smile.</p><p>"Hi, Esmeralda. How are you?"</p><p>I huffed. "I was fine, before my boyfriend and best friend started ganging up on me in defense of their stupid fake city." I paused for a moment, realized I had mistakenly referred to Milo as my boyfriend, but didn't mention it.</p><p>Quasi looked confused. "Huh?"</p><p>I shook my head. "It's nothing. So, are you excited for Paris?"</p><p>He nodded excitedly, tugging his backpack on his shoulders. "Yes! I haven't been here since I was born. There was actually a news story about me when I was put in the orphanage, and that's where Father Frollo saw me. He flew all the way here to adopt me."</p><p>"He adopted you because of a news story?"</p><p>"Yeah. He saw what I...what I looked like and he wanted to help me and protect me. I really do owe him my life, Esmeralda," he added when I looked skeptical. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to him if Frollo hadn't adopted him.</p><p>The class made their way through the airport, down some escalators to reach the baggage area. We all crowded around the carrousel, and one of the teachers yelled at us to move out of the way once we got our luggage. I pushed through my classmates to hoist my suitcase off the line, and I got Quasi's small bag for him too.</p><p>We slowly boarded five buses and pulled out of the Charles de Gualle Aeroporte, heading towards France's capital. The entire bus seemed to fall asleep instantly, but Quasi and I stayed awake, both of us staring out the window. We finally reached what I had been looking for: the Cathedrale Notre Dame. Even at night, it was glorious. It was still lit up and towered above our bus. I put my hand excitedly on Quasi's arm as we crossed the bridge over the Seine, entering the Ile de la Cite, where the cathedral rested. "We're staying right next to it!" I whispered excitedly to him, and he nodded, knowing exactly what I was talking about. We both stared up at it, just feet away.</p><p>After two hours in my seat, Dean Queen woke everyone up by sharply turning on the lights and clapping her hands. The students all groaned, shielding their squinting eyes and starting to stand up, stretching.</p><p>We all filed off, Quasi still by my side, and lined up to retrieve our luggage from the lower compartment. I finally turned to see our hotel.</p><p>It was magnificent. I read the name, Hôtel Saint-Louis en l'Isle. Right next to my cathedral. My home. </p><p> </p><p>ANNA</p><p>Hôtel Saint-Louis en l'Isle. This was to be our home for the next two weeks. I was too tired to marvel, however, and I stumbled inside to follow the class with Kristoff and Rapunzel at my side. All 200 plus of us stacked into the lobby, leaning on each others' shoulders and looking around for the teacher who was going to instruct us. "Students, please, look up here!" Fairy Godmother called. I spotted her near the front desk, and something about her was still sparkling in this early in the morning. "You filled out your roommate requests last week, and we did our best to match you all up as well as possible. The list is up here by the front desk. Please find out your room number as quickly as possible and tell Ms. Hearts and Dean Queen over here, who will give you your room keys. Chop chop, students!"</p><p>There was a slow surge towards the front desk, and Rapunzel and I squeezed our ways through to take a picture of the list. Without surprise, I was with my usual roommates: Punzie, Ariel, and Moana. I checked Elsa and Kristoff's roommates; Elsa was with Merida, Mulan, and Giselle, and Kristoff was with Jack, Hiccup, and Peter. I was relieved, since there would be no drama this way. </p><p>I found Moana and Ariel nearby while Rapunzel went to get our room keys. "Do you think we could get someone to help with our bags? We can't make this in one trip," Ariel said, looking at our luggage on a floor in a circle.</p><p>"Yeah, um -- excusez moi!" Rapunzel hailed one of the employees who was looking positively terrified at the amount of us. "Pouvez-vous nous aider avec nos sacs?"</p><p>Moana and I shared a glance. Apparently, Rapunzel knew French. The man nodded and walked forward with his luggage-carrier thing, one of those structures on wheels that always come with fancy hotels. We helped him load our stuff onto the thing, and he said "This way" in a cute French accent as he led us to an elevator. It was a little squished, and I pushed Rapunzel towards him, giggling a bit at her blush.</p><p>"Quel est votre numéro de chambre?" he asked my friend as we stepped into the quiet hall.</p><p>The only people there were Tinkerbell, her sister Periwinkle, and Iridessa, who were looking for their room. Moana caught eyes with Tink and grinned. "See you tomorrow?" she asked, and Tink nodded and winked. I furrowed my brows, but shrugged and caught up to Punz, who was flashing the card in front of the room's lock. It turned green and the boy opened the door for us, turning on the lights and pushing our luggage inside.</p><p>"Thank goodness," Ariel sighed, dropping her backpack and immediately flopped onto one of the two queen beds.</p><p>"I call this bed with Punzie!" I yelled, jumping on the other bed. I winked at Moana, who began to give me a "I can't believe you've done this" look before I interrupted. "Purely because Ariel kicks sometimes." Moana rolled her eyes at me, smiling a bit, and put her bag next to her bed.</p><p>"You want me to help you unpack?" the boy asked. The four of us looked at each other and then burst into laughter.</p><p>"No, no, that's okay. Merci," Rapunzel said through laughs. He nodded and left.</p><p>When he was gone, Punzie, Ariel, and I gasped at each other. "Punz, why didn't you get his number?" I asked enthusiastically.</p><p>She shrugged, rubbing her arm. "I don't know, it's just...it would feel weird."</p><p>Ariel raised her eyebrows at her. "Oh, really? Why, do you have someone else in mind?"</p><p>Rapunzel blushed hard, but she didn't respond as she started to go through her suitcase.</p><p>"Are you really going to unpack right now?" I asked with a groan, getting under our covers and shielding my eyes with my elbow.</p><p>"I'm not going to sleep in my skirt," she said obviously.</p><p>"Well, ha ha, I'm wearing sweats!" I sang, snuggling with a pillow.</p><p>I fell asleep in seconds. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I woke up with a start to a loud rapping on the door. "Up, up, up, girls!" Ms. Hearts called from the halls. She moved on to the next door. I squeezed my eyes shut, nestling into the pillow. Rapunzel bounded out of bed beside me.</p><p>"Guys, we're in Paris!" she squealed, hurring to start getting dressed.</p><p>I felt myself falling back into blissful sleep, when Moana started shaking my shoulder. "Get up, Anna. We're going to orientation."</p><p>"Fine, fine," I groaned, sitting up and wiping some drool off my face, leaning my elbow on my knee. I snapped out of another nod to sleep, exclaiming as Ariel giggled, pulling on a shirt.</p><p>I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, hopping into the shower as Rapunzel handed me some shampoo. I got ready with some makeup afterwards, and walked towards my suitcase. "Do you know what we're doing today?" I asked, wondering what to wear.</p><p>"I think we're going to a museum," Moana answered around her toothbrush.</p><p>I checked the weather on my phone: about 50 degrees. I pulled on a chunky green sweater with a black overall dress over black tights. I packed a bag of a water bottle, charger, sunglasses, lip gloss, and my wallet and room key. "Ready?" Ariel asked by the door. The three of us nodded and followed her out the door, joining Tink, Peri, Iridessa, Elsa, Merida, Mulan, and Giselle on the way to the elevator.</p><p>"Hey, Els!" I said to my sister, bumping her arm.</p><p>She looked down at me quickly. "Oh, hi Anna. Sleep well?"</p><p>"Like a baby," I chuckled. "You?"</p><p>Elsa sighed, averting her eyes. "Fine." She was lying, but then we were all piling into the elevator together to go down to the lobby floor.</p><p>We walked out, following the flow of students who were entering a large room, one that was most likely used for conferences or special events. It seemed we would be taking over for the next few days. There were rows and rows of chairs lined up, and students filled about half of them, facing the side wall. I sat down next to Ariel and Elsa, chatting with them about what we were excited to do in the city.</p><p>Ten minutes later, Fairy Godmother stepped up in front of the students, placing the tip of her wand at her neck. "Good morning, Disney High students, or should I say bonjour! This is your orientation, and we will be briefing you on what we will be doing for the next eleven days here in Paris. Your teachers are passing out schedules by the day, and detailed hourly itineraries will be posted in the lobby the night before each activity. I highly advise you to take a picture of this schedule, as many of you will lose them." Rapunzel had already taken one, and she sent it to all of us.</p><p>"Today, we will be visiting the Musee d'Orsay as well as Musee l'Orangerie. But before that, all of you will be taking a mandatory French language basics class. It is proper and polite to give your best effort to learn the language of the country you are visiting.</p><p>"We will also be going over a few rules for your time here. While your time will mostly be taken up from 9 AM to 4 PM with varying school activities, the weekends and all other hours are your own. Breakfast will be provided here at the hotel from 7 to 8, and lunch will be mostly set during your scheduled outings. Dinner, however, is entirely up to you. There are multiple lovely cafes around the area, and I'm sure you won't have any trouble at all to find some good supper each night. Curfew is 11 PM on weekdays, while it is 1:30 AM on Fridays and Saturday. You'll find the Paris streets will be very lively all through the night. You know that we are here on New Year's Eve. We have a special event planned for that evening. Of course, curfew will be extended that night, but we will have regulations.</p><p>"You will each be given a metro card that is valid for 10 days, plus 10 extra tickets. The metro is a very common way of moving throughout the city, and we highly recommend using it while practicing safety. Always inform one of the administrators where you are going before you leave our presence.</p><p>"Now students, please take a look at your schedule for today. After your hour-and-a-half French crash course, we will be walking to the museums we will be visiting. You can have the option to take a free guided tour around the museums, or you can wander on your own. Of course, there are expectations for you all to represent our school well, and stay quiet, polite, and respectful."</p><p>Fairy Godmother continued with some rules, but I was already eager to go out into the Paris streets. "Now, before we go take our French classes, you will all be allowed to take some breakfast in a nearby cafe. I'm sure you're all starving after your long night! You have one hour, so return here by 10:30. Our French classes commence at 11. Now, go have some French breakfast!"</p><p>We all immediately stood up, chatting excitedly. "I can't wait to have a croissant!" I said excitedly. Kristoff, Eric, Elsa, Punz, Ariel, Moana and I all hurried out of the hotel, looking around for a cafe. They were not hard to find. It seemed one appeared on every corner, and Parisians lazily smoked cigarettes as they watched us flutter, sipping their coffee.</p><p>"What about this one?" I asked, looking at the cafe directly across the hotel's entrance.</p><p>"Everyone's going to go to that one," Moana replied. "Let's look around a bit."</p><p>We set off, and I strung my arm through Elsa's and interlocked my hand with Kristoff, happily walking down the cobblestone street. The day was sunny and the air was crisp and cold. Our breath steamed out before our faces, but I didn't mind. I couldn't help but smile, and all of my friends seemed the same way, including Elsa. I was glad that she seemed to be doing okay without Jack for the time being -- her complete isolation at home for Christmas had been worrisome. But now she looked carefree, and it seemed that no troubles plagued her secluded mind as she pointed out colorful tiny cars to me.</p><p>"Here!" Ariel cried, and we veered towards some cute cafe. We pulled 7 chairs around two tables, being a bit noisy but we didn't mind.</p><p>A waiter came out to take our order, immediately speaking in English. We were probably very noticeably American. Almost all of us ordered coffee and croissants, but Elsa and I of course made ours chocolate croissants.</p><p>"I can't believe we're here!"  said Ariel blissfully, looking around.</p><p>"I know!" I said. "This is like a dream!"</p><p>We talked excitedly about the experiences we were going to have, about how we'd climb up the Eiffel Tower and shop on the Champs-Elysees. The food we ate was delicious, and the chocolate croissants seemed to melt in my mouth. I almost got another one, but we had to get back to the hotel.</p><p>We congregated around the administrators, and once everyone was there, we set off towards the classrooms to take our French lessons. We walked over the bridge above the Seine river, pointing at the boats gliding by, Parisians sitting happily along the banks with their dogs and their baguettes, the spitting image of classic Paris. We were herded through the streets, passing cafes by cafes, retail stores and restaurants. Motorcycles zoomed past, and people on electric scooters weaved through traffic. Faint sirens sounded in the distance, but were barely audible over the constant sound of trumpets or guitars or accordions, citizens trying to get some pay for their talents.</p><p>The classrooms were not far at all, and we were able to spread out in a little cobblestone courtyard to listen to the teachers. "All right, students, we are going to split up!" Ms. Hearts said. She read off names in groups, all by alphabetical order. Luckily, I was still with Kristoff, Rapunzel, Ariel, and my sister, while Moana joined Tinkerbell's group. We were then ushered into a small classroom and sat down in some chairs, Punzie already teaching us some words.</p><p>"Bonjour, mes etudiants!" a young woman said cheerfully, entering the room with a smile. She introduced herself as Madame Dinah. We learned how to greet people, how to say "I don't speak French" and "Do you speak English?" We learned how to order food politely (you can't just say "I want," you must say "I would like") and how to ask for directions. I came out retaining almost nothing, but I knew I had Rapunzel to rely on. Plus Google Translate.</p><p>We gathered back in the courtyard at 12:30, and my stomach was already rumbling again. "We will be taking lunch in the museum's dining room," Dean Queen informed us. "Let's go." We followed them down one of the larger streets along the river, pointing out French pigeons (somehow different from American pigeons). Finally we arrived at the stairs to the museum, which looked over the Seine. We piled into a downstairs area to go through security and then Dean Queen took us upstairs to the entrance of the Musee d'Orsay. It was a giant, hollowed out train station, milling with hundreds of people. The high glass ceiling domed above, and right behind our heads was a giant glass clock on the wall. Marble statues filled the lower floor, and rooms forked off to the side, most likely filled with exquisite paintings and artwork.</p><p>But before we got the chance to venture to see the art, Dean Queen led all of us up a few flights of stairs to reach a grand dining room, with a painted ceiling, large chandeliers, and big windows overlooking the city. The restaurant already had a few large tables laid out for us, and we rushed to find seats to sit together. It took a while to order, but eventually we were all chowing down on sandwiches, fries, soups, and coffee.</p><p>We all finished in a short amount of time and were ushered out of the restaurant, as they had to prepare for tea time. Back at the main entrance, we moved to the side so Dean Queen could talk to us. "Now, students, you are given the opportunity to have a free guided tour, in English, from this woman Maria who will take you to see the most famous paintings of the museums and give you extra information on them. If you are interested in this, please step forward and we will hand out headsets so you can listen to Maria over them. If you prefer to wander on your own, be back here by 3:30, no later. And don't get in trouble!"</p><p>Kristoff looked down at me. "I assume you'd rather not take the tour?"</p><p>I giggled. "You know me too well." We bid goodbye to our friends who wanted to follow the guide, and I excitedly pulled Kristoff down the steps of the museum to admire the statues. You could just walk right up to them! I pointed out the detail in one of a nymph, and got yelled at in French by a guard for almost touching them, which made me jump and Kristoff laughed. I dragged him all throughout the museum, excitement coursing through me, just like our first date. Except these classic paintings were a little less cool than the mummy exhibit.</p><p>Van Gogh was cool, though. Kristoff absolutely marveled at all of his pieces, and I didn't blame him. I did have to fight us through the crowd to get a closer look, even though Kristoff insisted that he could still see over them. There were disadvantages to our 10 inch height difference.</p><p>I was especially excited to go up to the top floor of the museum, because Judy had told me in passing with Nani and Mulan and Giselle that there was a giant clock window that served as a cool picture spot. I pulled Kristoff up the sketchy, hot staircases, because the elevator scared him, and we entered the crowded exhibit that featured impressionist paintings. People swarmed the walls, studying the beautiful frames and pictures of romantic scenery, boats on the water, ladies enjoying the gardens, urban European streets filled with life. I had Kristoff take my picture with the statue of the Degas ballerina girl, in the same pose. He was quite enraptured with an enormous painting of people picnicking in the grass, and we stayed there for a few minutes before I got too antsy and quietly tugged him away.</p><p>Finally, after we weaved throughout the whole floor of people, we reached the end, where a giant glass window in the shape of a clock stood. It overlooked the Seine and a broad frame of the city, and I gasped hurrying towards the railing to look at the view. Kristoff joined me and I looked up at him with a grin. "Isn't this amazing?" I asked breathlessly, my eyes flitting between the scenery and his face.</p><p>Kristoff suddenly took my cheek in his hand, and my eyes met his for a split second before he leaned down to kiss me tenderly. I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him back, smiling and putting my arms around his waist. When he finally released me, the glow of the snowy city reflecting off his face, I grinned at him. "I love you," he said.</p><p>My lips parted in surprise, my heart doing a flip in my chest as my ears warmed. Unable to hide a giggle, I smiled at him as big as I could. "I love you too, Kristoff," I responded. He hugged me tightly before pulling me into another kiss.</p><p>It felt right. I felt perfect. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>RAPUNZEL</p><p>Right after we exited the magnificent Musee d'Orsay, we headed to the Musee l'Orangerie, which was basically right across a wide park. Moana, Eric, Ariel and I rejoined with Anna and Kristoff, who seemed to be glowing, and Anna was even closer to her boyfriend as they held hands. I smiled at them and fell into step between Anna and Moana as I gushed about what we had learned on the tour.</p><p>The next museum was definitely smaller, but still seemed pretty popular. I was really excited for this one, because it exhibited Claude Monet's water lily series, which supposedly wrapped around the entire rooms. We stepped into the heated building, out of the cold bitter air of the park. Again, we were offered a free guided tour, but I opted to stay alone for this one. I was prepared to have an almost religious experience with these paintings. I took a lot of inspiration and guidance from Monet, and I wanted to experience his most famous paintings for myself.</p><p>While the tour with my friends split off into the downstairs area first, I immediately made my way to the Monet exhibit, and my breath caught as I entered the room. It was a white oval-shaped space, but the walls were almost completely covered with rectangular paintings of the water lilies, the canvas bending with the room itself to completely encase me in the paintings' beauty. I spun around, trying to see all of it at once, the paints and shapes dancing before my eyes.</p><p>I then stepped closer to the one nearest me, moving sideways and examining every detail I could. I took note of the brush strokes, the mix of colors, and the vague but also precise detail of the trees and flowers on the canvas. It felt like I spent just seconds in there before my class filtered in with their tour, making the room a bit loud and earning glares from other museum-goers. To avoid the noise, I stepped into the second room of paintings, which was basically the same, and just as marvelous as the first.</p><p>I began studying the paintings intently again, and barely noticed when I almost bumped into a man leaning on the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry! I was just so enchanted -- oh...Hi!" It was Flynn Rider, looking down at me with his beautiful brown eyes and his arms crossed, leaning on an open space of white wall.</p><p>"Blondie!" he said with a smile, opening his hands to me. I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear, looking at the ground awkwardly. Nala perked up beside him, tearing her eyes from the painting in front of her.</p><p>"Hi Rapunzel!" she greeted with a friendly smile. "Isn't this amazing?"</p><p>I nodded, looking around the room. "It really is."</p><p>"I'm gonna keep looking around, 'kay?" she said to Flynn, absently placing a hand on his arm which I definitely didn't miss. I clasped my hands in front of me self-consciously as Flynn saluted her.</p><p>He shifted on the wall, putting his hands on his hips. "So, you're an artist, right?" he asked, and he sounded genuinely interested.</p><p>My head snapped up to meet his eyes. I felt like I looked at them a bit too long before I hastily replied, "Oh, yeah. I love painting, but honestly any medium is great. Monet is such a great artist, I really look up to his work."</p><p>He nodded, looking me up and down. I nervously tried to make my feet not point so inwards -- my mother always told me it made me look like a troll. "How'd you know I was an artist?" I asked him, starting to lean on the wall too before I quickly noticed that I was about to lean on the painting, which left me awkwardly off balance. Flynn smirked a bit and my cheeks burned.</p><p>"Nala and I went to the art show this semester, and I saw your painting of the tower. The really tall one with the waterfall in the background."</p><p>The piece had been called Isolation.</p><p>I blushed even harder. "Oh, yeah, that wasn't that good, it was a silly --"</p><p>"No," he interrupted quickly, holding a hand out. "I really liked it. It was...it was incredible. You have a lot of talent."</p><p>"Really?" I asked, my chest filling with bubbles of elation.</p><p>Flynn was about to say something before Nala appeared at his shoulder, grabbing his elbow. "Flynn! Jasmine told me there's a black artist exhibit downstairs! Let's go before we have to get back to the group! You wanna come with us, Rapunzel?" she asked with a grin, her eyes crinkling.</p><p>My excitement levels plummeted and I shook my head, fighting to keep a polite smile on my face. "No, that's okay. I think I'll stay up here for a bit."</p><p>Nala nodded and started pulling Flynn out of the room. He gave a small little wave and said, "See you later, Blondie!"</p><p>I waved back, holding onto a strand of my hair and watching him until he left the room. I sighed, all alone, and turned back to the painting, which seemed to have a new layer of sadness to it. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARIEL</p><p>I had spent the entire day with my friends and Eric. They were so nice to him, and it was good to have Kristoff along, so that Eric wouldn't have to be the only one with the five of us girls. Everything just seemed so perfect. Anna and Kristoff were practically making heart eyes at each other all of the time, Rapunzel was reveling in the city itself, and Elsa seemed perfectly happy while she was on her break with Jack (Anna had informed us of her situation, and we had agreed to include her on all of our outings, since she would normally be with Jack. Moana seemed to be the only one not in heaven, but I assumed it was jetlag.</p><p>I, on the other hand, was looking forward to spending every waking moment with Eric. He had already asked me if I wanted to go out with him tonight at dinner, and of course I said yes. After the museums, we hurried back to the hotel before we went to get dinner. I got ready alone in my room, since everyone else had opted for a group dinner at a cafe that Rapunzel had looked up.</p><p>I decided to wear a nice pink dress, despite the cold, and I added a jacket on top to at least stop me from freezing to death. It was supposed to snow tomorrow, and I couldn't wait to see the city as a winter wonderland. I curled my long red hair and added some makeup, feeling jittery with anticipation for the dinner.</p><p>Eric soon met me in the lobby of the hotel, with a nice shirt on and a jacket. "You look gorgeous," he said, and I blushed.</p><p>"Thank you. You look very handsome yourself," I said, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear.</p><p>"I hope you don't mind that we walk, it's about ten minutes away," he said as we started out of the hotel doors.</p><p>I shook my head. "When in Paris!"</p><p>He smiled and led the way down the street. We crossed the bridge, stopping to admire the sunset, onto the mainland of the city, which was buzzing with life. He didn't offer to hold my hand, but I was completely fine with that, because they were stuffed in my pockets as I shivered. We walked up the small streets, passing a couple people and taking note of the cute apartments, looking into windows of stores as they closed for dinnertime. It was 7PM, but the cafes weren't particularly full. Eric told me that people in France often ate dinner at around 9PM or later, especially in summer when the sun set at almost midnight.</p><p>He finally showed me into a restaurant that was moderately crowded, and the perfect balance of casual and romantic. We were seated at a two-person table by a window, and observed the people passing by, huddling in their coats.</p><p>"So," Eric started as a basket of bread was placed down. "How are you liking Paris so far?"</p><p>"It's incredible!" I replied with enthusiasm. "It's so busy and it seems just so alive all the time. I could barely fall asleep last night because everyone was still talking and playing music and there were cars and motorcycles everywhere."</p><p>Eric chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. The school's city is busy, but never this busy. It's like French people never sleep."</p><p>"Forget New York," I laughed.</p><p>We soon ordered, Eric getting a duck entree as I ordered chicken and vegetables. The waiter was friendly and spoke English with us, asking us where we were from. He even offered us white wine, and Eric gave me a look, shrugged, and accepted it, making a show of tasting it professionally before telling the waiter that it was exquisite. I laughed as he mouthed me that he had no idea if it was or not, but our waiter filled our glasses, which surprised me. I hoped we wouldn't be caught, but honestly, being sent home with Eric didn't even seem that bad.</p><p>Our food arrived, and it was absolutely delicious. By the time I was halfway done, I was almost full. Eric took a diplomatic sip of his wine and set down his silverware, looking at me. "What?" I asked with a smile, taking a bite of my squash.</p><p>"I..." he began, looking uncomfortable. "I wanted to tell you again that I'm sorry about everything that's happened with Vanessa, this semester and last year. I really didn't mean to hurt you, or anyone for that matter. I just feel really bad and I want you to know that it was nothing against you." He looked down at his plate, refusing to meet my eyes and I could tell that he was genuinely pained by his past actions.</p><p>I reached forward to put my hand on his, taking it gingerly and willing him to meet my eyes. He did. "Eric. I know that. You were doing it for your mother, I know there was no way else for you to help her. What you did was brave, especially dating that witch Vanessa."</p><p>He gave a halfhearted smile, but something about it didn't sit right with me. I continued. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry that your mother didn't make it. If I would have known, I would have helped as much as I could."</p><p>He squeezed my hand, nodding, and his eyes were a little watery. We went back to eating, but I kept glancing up at Eric. The way he seemed like he hadn't entirely regretted the dating Vanessa part...was it really not that bad? Are we the same to him?</p><p>After a few minutes, I couldn't take it any more. I cleared my throat. "Eric," I began, cutting my chicken. "Did you like dating Vanessa?"</p><p>I looked up to see his shocked face. Then he shook his head. "No. No, Ariel, definitely not. She was...she was gross." He shuddered a bit, and despite myself, I smiled at this prospect. I wasn't as bad as Vanessa, at least. "But I think she does need some help," he added.</p><p>I furrowed my brows, stopping my cutting. "What do you mean?"</p><p>He sighed. "Vanessa...Vanessa is troubled. She's not as bad as everyone says she is, really."</p><p>I frowned. That didn't seem right. Vanessa was the devil spawn at the school. "But what about that time she attempted to drown me and Aurora because we were Sandy? And she tried to stop me from being on the swim team? And when she stole my voice in the talent show? And she kidnapped me in the school bathroom!" I protested, getting angrier as she remembered every bad thing she had done to hurt me and my friends over the course of the past 18 months in Disney High. And that barely covered all of it. She was always on my back, and I didn't even feel safe knowing that she was always on campus, maybe watching me, or scheming at a way for getting back at me for simply being more talented than her, or getting too close to Eric.</p><p>Eric seemed to flinch at each sentence, and I realized I was getting louder. I waved a little apology to the people surrounding us, and looked back at Eric for a response. He pushed his potatoes around his plate. "Those...those schemes are usually her mom's ideas."</p><p>I scoffed. "Ms. Sea? No way. She's a teacher. Sure, she's not a good teacher, and she does favor Vanessa a lot, but she doesn't administer the actual plans to hurt and sabotage students."</p><p>Eric shook his head. "She's behind a lot of it. She lives vicariously through Vanessa, and she wants her to always be the best. That's why she makes her do all those things, to get on top."</p><p>I disagreed, but stayed silent, not wanting to get into an argument in this restaurant. Things seemed to have turned around so suddenly. Finally, I said quietly, "Then why doesn't she refuse?"</p><p>This struck Eric silent. Soon, our plates were taken away, and we made awkward conversation, trying to change the subject as we discussed the events we were to go on in the coming week. We split the bill, and the wine was surprisingly cheap.</p><p>We left almost three hours after we had arrived, and the streets seemed even busier than before, and people excitedly milled about after work to find somewhere to eat. Music filled the streets as we walked back over the bridge under the stars, boats sailing beneath us with muffled music and strings of lights.</p><p>Eric walked me back to my hotel room, right before our curfew started. "Well," he said, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. "I had a nice time."</p><p>I smiled. "I did too."</p><p>"Well --" Eric said again, in a conclusive tone, but I stopped him by reaching out to touch his shoulder.</p><p>"Wait!" I said, and he met my eyes. "Eric, I'm really sorry for starting that whole conversation tonight. I didn't mean to make things awkward. I'm glad we can be together now, and that's what matters." His eyes glowed at me, and my body filled with warmth.</p><p>Eric took my hand in his. "I'm glad we can be together too."</p><p>"And..." I continued, shifting my weight on my legs. "I think it's really good of you to defend Vanessa. You see the good in everyone, and I think that's fantastic," I told him truthfully. I found myself holding eye contact, which was something I could barely do normally, but our eyes seemed to lock perfectly.</p><p>"And I can see that you are a beautiful person, Ariel," said Eric, smiling. I blushed and reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek, which made his eyes light up.</p><p>"Good night," I said, softly letting go of his hand and unlocking my door.</p><p>"Good night," he replied, and I gave him one last smile before slipping inside my room to meet my friends knocked out on their beds. I hummed my way into the bathroom, brushing my fingers through my hair, and dancing on a cloud. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hi everyone! sorry I've been absent for a while, pandemics, ya feel? but its summer now, so I'll be back. I honestly didn't really read over this chapter, I was just worried about getting it out there, so be warned -- this is not edited. like at all.</p><p>its crazy how I made the characters go to Paris because I was going to Paris too, and I wanted to write their Paris experience at the same time I was in Paris but that didn't work out. I was in Paris A YEAR AGO! isn't that crazy? time flies, and it definitely shows how badly I am at writing and updating on schedule. oops.</p><p>SO! they're finally in Paris! Esmeralda is feeling shunned by both Kida and Milo as they team up with Atlantis research, but Esme finds a lot of comfort with her friend Quasimodo. Anna and Kristoff have said the L word to each other, and Elsa is seemingly doing okay without Jack by her side. Rapunzel is getting more and more interested in Flynn Rider, but Nala seems to be with him all the time, and they both seem to be happy. finally, while Eric and Ariel now can be together, there is some tension about Eric's past in regards to his relationship with Vanessa. will this come between them?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: what's your favorite thing that you've done this quarantine? something new you've learned, or maybe something you created?</p><p>My Answer: I am loving learning how to rollerskate! I can now go around my block!</p>
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<a name="section0046"><h2>46. Chapter 46</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>HICCUP</p><p>The day after our museum expeditions, I could barely get out of bed when Mr. Scar gave a rhythmic tap to wake us up. "Rise and shine, boys!" he sang, and Peter whined, kicking his sheets. Kristoff, on the other hand, rolled out of bed to avoid Peter's flying feet, and he disappeared into the bathroom with a spring in his step.</p><p>I shut my eyes again, rolling over. "How can he be a morning person? It's supposed to be 10:30 PM at home."</p><p>I put my arm over my forehead, blocking out the light, and fell asleep again before I felt Jack lightly shaking me as he got out of bed. "Come on, buddy," he said in a groggy voice.</p><p>I sighed and pushed the blankets off of me, falling out of the hotel bed and onto the floor. "I hate jetlag," I muttered, pushing myself off the ground and then stumbling into the bathroom. I tried to tame my cowlick as best I could, but it didn't feel like cooperating.</p><p>When I was ready to leave the room with Jack and Kristoff, Peter was still in bed, but Jack ran over to give him a smack on the face before he dashed out the door, leaving an angry Peter cursing after him.</p><p>We went down to the lobby to meet up with Alice, Merida, and Wendy, while Kristoff branched off to see Anna. Merida and Alice were definitely not morning people either, but Wendy was the brightest, most chipper person in the room as she kissed Peter good morning. "Hello, Hiccup, Jack. Shall we have breakfast at the cafe across the way?" she asked with a smile, lacing her fingers through Peter's.</p><p>We all agreed and exited into the freezing air. Overnight, it had lightly snowed, and we crunched through the powder across the street to take shelter in a warm, wonderful-smelling cafe, ordering hot drinks and breads.</p><p>Merida and I sat next to each other, squished between Jack and Alice. "This tastes like mah maw's empire biscuits back home," Merida commented as she bit into a jelly-filled pastry, getting jelly on her cheek. Her hair was unkept and I occasionally had to spit it out of my mouth when she turned to talk to me.</p><p>"Does anyone know what we're doing today?" Alice asked the table, guzzling down her coffee. She goes through about 5 cups a day, and always comes to us bewildered as to why she can never sleep at night. </p><p>Wendy piped up, "I'm pretty sure we're doing a tour of Montmartre."</p><p>"Wonderful," Merida grumbled, although I had a hunch that she had no idea what Montmartre actually was.</p><p>We left after Jack finished his chocolate croissant, which I thought was probably an ode to Elsa and her chocolate obsession. He wasn't over her -- though I suppose if they were taking a break, he wouldn't necessarily have to be over her. He just never stopped thinking about her. He was grumpy and morose all the time, and he'd lost a lot of his appetite. His normal spark for life was gone, and I was starting to worry about him. He hadn't even taken advantage of the snow this morning with his unbridled powers.</p><p>I hoped that this trip would distract him a little bit, but it didn't help that the couples at the school were going full force with their lovey stuff, including Kristoff who announced that he told Anna he loved her last night. Jack had just rolled over in bed, hugging a pillow and not taking part in the congratulations Peter and I offered Kristoff.</p><p>When we gathered in the lobby, Wendy's idea was right -- we would be taking the metro to the town of Montmartre, and taking part in a walking tour of the city, finishing with a view of the Sacre Cour. A few students ran up to get extra coats, as the air was still freezing. It seemed to me that this adventure was going to be more of a treacherous snow hike rather than a learning, pleasant walking tour.</p><p>We set off to the subway station, which we piled into with our individual metro cards. We took up two whole cars of the metros, and Merida laughed as French people gave us sour looks, pointedly exiting the car to step onto an emptier one. On the way to our destination, Merida daringly rode without holding onto the steel bars, and she loudly read the French metro stations and rules in a horrible, Scottish-French-German sounding accent, which made me cringe and laugh at. As we neared our station, the speaker announced, "Le prochain arrêt est la gare des Abbesses," which Merida butchered into "La prochone array ay la gare dey Abbsey."</p><p>Ms. Hearts yelled at us to quickly hop off the subway, and we all swarmed the platform, people squeezing through us to catch the car and cursing at us in French. Merida dared me to race to the top of the stairs, and I originally refused, but then as she began whining at my "loser-ness," I bolted up the steps, laughing. "Not fair, ye howlin' dobber!" she cried, hauling herself up the steps after me, whooping with laughter. Despite my head start, she still won, and did not hesitate to laugh at me, with a string of light-hearted insults that got her a reprimand from the Fairy Godmother.</p><p>Once again, we stepped into the freezing air in a whole new part of the city, one that had large hills and far less restaurants, making the town quieter. We began up one of the streets as the guide we met told us about the history of Montmartre, but Merida could not care less. She quietly began telling me about the new quiver she had gotten for Christmas, and I in turn told her about my time at home with Jack and Astrid. "Yer gettin' a bit more than friendly with Astrid now, wouldn't ye say, Hic?" she asked with a smirk, nudging me hard in the ribcage.</p><p>I blushed profusely, shaking my head. "No, no, I...we're just friends!" I insisted when she wiggled her red eyebrows at me, before she exploded in laughter. I pushed her softly, but she barely budged before she was told off by Ms. Hearts for being too loud.</p><p>"Aw, these people are lame," she told me under her breath. We continued trudging up and down the town's snowy streets, passing a restaurant with a giant windmill, a pink cafe, and a few tall, ivy-covered buildings before finally reaching the Sacre Coeur, a giant white church with an expansive view of the entire city below us.</p><p>"Wow," I couldn't help but exhale, and I pulled Merida to the railing to overlook the snowy city. I could spot the Champs-Elysees, and Merida pointed out the Eiffel Tower to the left.</p><p>"Children!" Ms. Hearts called to gather us together. "We are about to begin our tour of the interior of the Sacre Coeur, which is a very wonderful opportunity. Stick together!"</p><p>Merida shot her hand into the air, and I looked at her in panic. "Ms. Hearts, how long will this tour take?" she asked innocently.</p><p>Ms. Hearts asked the guide the same question, and gave the answer of about an hour. Merida thanked her and turned to me. "What was that for?" I asked as we began moving up the steps of the church.</p><p>"How about we get outta here? There's a scooter right there, we'll take a burl around the town on our own and be back before anyone notices we're gone!" she exclaimed, excitement blazing in her eyes as she pointed to one of the motorized scooters laying nearby, unattended.</p><p>I glanced back at the tour group leaving, moving into the church with Ms. Hearts and Fairy Godmother at the lead, not checking behind them as students filed inside. I glanced back at the scooter and at Merida's hopeful expression. "Why not?" I sighed, and Merida let out a yell of happiness before I shushed her, moving forwards to grab the scooter.</p><p>"Look, Ay have the app," she said, pulling out her phone and taking off her glove with her teeth to open it. She tapped a few buttons and then scanned the code on the scooter, making a loud noise and causing me to jump.</p><p>"Hey, what about me?" I asked as she hopped on.</p><p>She rolled her eyes, nodding her head in my direction. "There's only one scooter around. Get on, ye numpty."</p><p>I took a deep breath, walking towards her on the scooter and hesitantly stepping on, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist with her hair directly in my face. "Hold on!" she yelled, and held down the gas flip.</p><p>The scooter shot forward, slipping on the ice, and I flew back, my butt landing on the cold concrete. "Ow! Merida!" I shouted, laughing and rubbing my behind.</p><p>Merida stopped, stepping off the scooter and looking down at me, doubling over with crowing laughter as I could practically feel a bump forming on my bottom. "Sorry, Hiccup!" she choked out, tears streaming down her face as she cackled. This situation very much reminded me of the first week of school, when I ran into a telephone pole on the way home from the store with her.</p><p>She finally calmed down her laughter, letting out a small chuckle as she leaned down to help me up. I grabbed her hands and allowed myself to be pulled up effortlessly. She practically swung me onto the scooter behind her and ordered, "Now actually hang on this time, ya dimwit."</p><p>I squeezed her torso and said into her hair, "How about you don't go unreasonably fast this time!" </p><p>She didn't hear me through her bush of hair, and took off again. "Woohoo!" she shouted, and I strained my neck and tightened my grip on her. We shot down the avenue, dangerously skidding over the icy streets.</p><p>"This - is - a - hazard!" I screamed, Merida's hair flying in my face as she laughed gleefully. But I was actually enjoying this ride. My heart pounded quickly as we climbed a few hills, Merida laughing as she pushed the scooter with her foot to help us up.</p><p>We finally slowed down at the foot of an old, abandoned church, in a quiet corner of the town. It was made of dark stone, with a few broken windows and an overgrown lawn. "Wicked," Merida breathed, stepping off the scooter and leaving it to fall at my feet, hitting my ankle. "How old do you think it is?" she asked, stepping towards it as I lay the scooter against a fence.</p><p>I joined her to look up at the church, which gave me the chills. Or maybe I was just cold; the wind was picking up. I crossed my arms to keep my warmth in my gloved hands and shivered.</p><p>Merida noticed and sat down to lean against the fence, patting the snowy cement next to her. I sat down on my bruised butt, making me colder, but her warmth helped.</p><p>We sat there, gazing up at the old apartment buildings in front of us, covered in ivy. Then, out of the blue, Merida said, "I'm glad you're my friend, Hiccup."</p><p>I looked over at her in surprise, but responded, "I'm glad you're my friend too, Merida."</p><p>"Even if you are a loser," she added, smirking.</p><p>I groaned. "You just had to ruin it, huh? We were having a nice moment!" I protested, and she laughed, punching my arm very hard.</p><p>"But you love it," she snickered.</p><p>I sighed. Yeah, I did. Merida lay her head on my shoulder and I lay mine on top of hers, and we sat there in silence, watching the snow fall peacefully to the ground. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>BELLE</p><p>I could have stayed in Montmartre all day, but our chaperones insisted that we make our way back to the hotel to enjoy a nearby lunch, so I sadly piled onto the metro with Jane and Tarzan. We decided to get lunch at a cafe across the water, its tables crammed together as it was filled with French patrons, chatting quietly with each other as they lounged with their coffees.</p><p>We sat down, and Jane and Tarzan barely made it a minute without interlacing their hands again. My cousin looked up from her paper to notice me staring at their hands on the table. "Belle," she said in her British accent, catching Tazran's and my attention. "I think that you should get a hot French boy this trip. You of all people in our class would be capable of that."</p><p>Tarzan smiled and looked back at me for an answer. I shook my head quickly. "No, I don't think that's going to happen, Jane. Thanks for the concern though," I laughed. I put down my menu, deciding to get some warm soup to shield me against the snow outside.</p><p>"Oh, come on, Belle! What is it they say? Y.O.L.O.? You only live once, Belle! You can have a French New Year's Romance! Oh, the school would die for that gossip," she exclaimed, grinning at the idea of the chaos that would ensue at my news of a 'French New Year's romance.'</p><p>I raised a skeptical eyebrow at my brunette cousin. "And that's exactly why I'll be avoiding the idea, Jane."</p><p>"You know," Tarzan cut in, leaning an elbow on the table, which Jane swatted off, "I agree with Jane."</p><p>I rolled my eyes, teasingly responding, "Of course you do."</p><p>"No, really!" he said, his brown eyes starting to fill with excitement. "Not even because she's my girlfriend!" Jane shot him a little frown, the corners of her lips turned down which made him blush. "Well, sorta because she's my girlfriend, but for other reasons too!"</p><p>I laughed and leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. "Oh really? Like what?"</p><p>Tarzan released Jane's hand to start counting his points on his fingers, which made Jane smile. "Well, one, because French boys have a reputation for being really attractive. Allegedly."</p><p>Jane and I giggled, and Tarzan blushed a little, shaking us off. "Two, you've never had a boyfriend or any romantic stuff at all before, right?"</p><p>I shrugged. "Well, no, but that stuff's really not my thing. I much prefer books." To make a point, I pulled out my most recent read, A Tale of Two Cities.</p><p>Tarzan glanced at Jane, who was imploring him to go on. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, Belle," Jane said. "And you know, you can read while you're in a relationship too."</p><p>I smiled a bit, absently running my fingers over the edges of my book's pages. "It just doesn't interest me, that's all. At least not yet. I guess I'll just wait until the right person comes along."</p><p>The conversation there, as someone came to take our orders. The food, of course, was delicious, but after we finished, Jane and Tarzan asked if it would be all right if they split from me. "We were going to go down to this park we saw yesterday. You don't mind?" Jane asked with concern, her elbow linked with her boyfriend's.</p><p>I shook my head, waving them off. "Of course not. You two have fun. I will be having just as much fun with my book," I said as I took out my novel.</p><p>Jane gave me a worried smile while Tarzan waved jovially. We parted ways, and I took a few flights of stairs down to the edge of the Seine, finding an empty spot on the stone and sitting down, opening my book to where I had last left off.</p><p>I became entirely immersed in the world of the French Revolution, which had happened practically right where I was sitting. Marveling at the weaving between the characters, I suddenly heard someone clearing their throat loudly behind me. I sighed, hating being interrupted when reading, but when I turned around, I had to keep from audibly groaning.</p><p>Standing in a ridiculously boastful pose was Gaston himself, dressed in an expensive red coat and a yellow scarf, giving me a smirk. He was huge, and from my position, the cleft in his chin was incredibly prominent as he quirked his eyebrow at me. "Belle!" he cried, holding his hands out to me as if that were enough to make me fall coquettishly into his arms.</p><p>"Good afternoon, Gaston," I greeted, putting as much distaste into my tone as I could, turning back to the pages of my book.</p><p>"It is indeed, now that I'm here," he answered suavely, and I rolled my eyes at the river. I tried hard to pay attention to my book, but soon Gaston leaned over my shoulder and plucked it out of my hands.</p><p>"Gaston, may I have my book please?" I asked politely, standing up to face him trifling through the pages, staring at it like it was a particularly bewildering science experiment.</p><p>"How can you read this?" he asked with astonishment. "There's no pictures!"</p><p>I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "Well some people use their imagination."</p><p>"Belle," he declared, throwing the book aside, luckily away from the river, "it's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things -- like me."</p><p>He struck another pose, his hands on his hips, and attempted to flash a dazzling smile. Over his shoulder, I spotted the Bimbette triplettes on a bench, sighing and fawning over him and fought to not roll my eyes again.</p><p>"It's not right for a woman to read!" he continued, walking around me in his large leather boots. "Soon she starts getting ideas. And thinking."</p><p>"Gaston, you are positively primeval," I replied, tapping my finger with impatience.</p><p>But Gaston straightened his coat with importance and leaned towards me, saying "Why thank you, Belle." I fought the urge to snort at his incompetence. "You know, there's not a girl in school who wouldn't love to be in your shoes." He took a step towards me. "This is the day your dreams come true."</p><p>I smiled. "What do you know about my dreams, Gaston?" I took a few steps to pick up my book, but when I stood up, Gaston was in front of me again.</p><p>"Plenty!" he answered happily. He took my arm and waved his hand in front of us and said, "Picture this: a rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire, my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs."</p><p>Wife? I thought with alarm. What was wrong with this guy?</p><p>"We'll have 6 or 7," Gaston added with a wink.</p><p>"Dogs?" I asked hopefully.</p><p>"No, Belle!" He banged his chest with his fists. "Strapping boys, like me!"</p><p>"Imagine that," I replied, trying to turn and escape from his grasp. His hand tightened on me.</p><p>"And do you know who that little wife will be?"</p><p>"Let me think," I said, removing his hand slowly and placing my book in my tote bag.</p><p>"You, Belle," Gaston stated, blocking my path once more.</p><p>"Gaston!" I exclaimed, ducking under his arm. "I'm speechless!" He grinned at me. "I really don't know what to say."</p><p>He stepped closer to me. "Say you'll date me," he replied, leaning forward with his lips puckered. I wanted to vomit.</p><p>"I'm very sorry, Gaston," I said, leaning back over the water as far as I dared. My brain turned, looking for an escape. His lips were getting closer, like a wet, grimy monster. "But...but...I just don't deserve you!" </p><p>At the last moment, I ducked out of his reach and hopped behind him. Gaston continued leaning, his eyes closed, before he lost his balance and pitched forward, landing in the freezing water of the Seine. At that second, a band of wind instruments and accordions kicked in, playing a jolly tune as he resurfaced, shivering, his black hair plastered to his face.</p><p>I didn't stick around. Making sure I had my book in my bag, I stole away to a cafe to get a coffee and continue reading my book. </p><p> </p><p>CHARLOTTE</p><p>We returned from our Montmartre tour in the early afternoon and were released to lunch on our own. "Let's go back to the hotel to freshen up, girls," Vanessa commanded, straightening her purse and moving in the direction of our hotel.</p><p>But something else had caught my eye -- specifically a burly, brawny long-haired redhead bowing his head against the cold and moving towards a nearby cafe. My stomach leapt at the sight of Adam shouldering his way through the crowd, his huge hands shoved in his pockets.</p><p>"I think..." I started, looking back at Vanessa and the gang, "I think I'm gonna catch up to you guys later. I've got someone to talk to."</p><p>I began to walk away, glancing back to see Vanessa narrowing her eyes at me as I left, but it didn't seem to matter. I followed Adam through the cafe doors, walking towards the small two-person table he was seated at. I took a deep breath and stepped in front of the table, removing my white gloves. "Hi, Adam. Is anyone joinin' you for lunch?" I asked nervously, fiddling with my diamond ring.</p><p>He glanced up at me, and our blue eyes locked. His seemed particularly vulnerable and lonely. "Hm? Oh, uh, no. No, seat's open," he said, motioning to the empty chair across from him with his big, manly, strong hands...</p><p>"Thank you!" I said, sitting down and realizing how little space there was between us. "So. Paris is pretty wonderful, ain't it?"</p><p>Adam shrugged, crossing his arms on the table's surface. "I prefer northern France," he replied.</p><p>I lit up. "Ooh! Like Versailles! I think we're supposed to visit up there on Thursday --"</p><p>"I'm more familiar with Champagne-Ardennes," he said, touching the petals of the flowers in a little vase.</p><p>I scrunched my nose. "I don't think I'm familiar with that province," I began, but a waitress came over and asked, in French, what we would like.</p><p>Adam responded to her in perfect, flowing, sexy French: "Je voudrais une madame croque avec une limonade, s'il vous plait, et elle ..."</p><p>I was focusing on trying not to faint from the sudden blush that was rushing to my cheeks, before I noticed that both he and the waitress were staring at me expectantly. "Oh!" I exclaimed, hurriedly picking up the menu which I hadn't even looked at yet. My eyes flew over the page and I hurriedly said to the waitress in Louisiana French, "I'll have the classic salad, with the dressing on the side please, and without the tomatoes, they make my belly ache. Oh, and a cafe au lait! Please."</p><p>The waitress stared at me in confusion, her pen hovering over her paper like it had no idea what to do. Adam snorted, ducking his head and then avoiding my look, translating my request to the waitress before she nodded and walked away, shooting me one last look of bewilderment.</p><p>I looked at Adam again, raising one eyebrow. "Did I say somethin' wrong?" I asked with concern. I had embarrassed myself in front of Adam. His face was in his palms, and I bit my bottom lip, my cheeks turning pink with worry.</p><p>But after a moment, he raised his face from his hands, and to my astonishment, I realized he was laughing. A perfect, straight, white smile played across his lips as he chuckled, shaking his head. His eyes locked with mine, and they were dancing with laughter. I felt a new wave of warmth spread through my body, from my chest and up to my face, but it was accompanied with a smile and a giggle, joining in with Adam.</p><p>"W-what?" I laughed, fighting to keep tears within my eyelids. I honestly had no idea what we were laughing about.</p><p>He shook his head again, his red hair spilling over his broad shoulders. "It's just, with your dialect...it sounded like you were asking for a salad without the tomatoes because they make your ears hurt."</p><p>I pulled a face of confusion. "Really? Well, oopsie-daisy. I guess I'm just gonna have to have you order everythin' for me around here!" Adam's laughter died down and he surveyed me closely, making me shift uncomfortably in my seat. Shivers ran down my spine in response to his deep blue eyes.</p><p>"So," I chirped, clearing my throat and looking around the cafe. "Champagne-Ardennes? Is that where you're from?"</p><p>Adam nodded. "I lived there for about seven years, before my father decided that it would be a good idea for me to get experience in the States. He grew up in North Carolina."</p><p>"Oh! So you're only half French?" I inquired, leaning my chin on my palm.</p><p>"Yes, but French is my first language. My mom taught it to me before she...left." He ducked his head and refused to meet my eyes. His deep voice had lost its edge, and my heart panged.</p><p>I hesitantly reached across the table to put my hand on top of his, and he flinched, startling me. "I lost my mama too," I told him quietly. "I didn't know her, so I guess it's not the same thing exactly, but I know a little bit about how it feels. I'm sorry, Adam."</p><p>He looked up at me, a small strand of hair falling in front of his eyes. I started to reach forward to brush it away, but his expression warned me otherwise, and I pulled my hand back.</p><p>Our food soon came and we ate in mainly silence, while I watched the people outside the window bow their heads against the cold, as a new layer of light snow began to fall. We then both ordered some more coffee and began to fall into another rhythm of conversation. I asked him how he usually spent his days in France as a child. He told me how he visits here every chance he gets to go home, although he has no family to return to. All that are left are his "housekeepers," but I got the feeling that they were basically like family to him.</p><p>"Wait, is this the house that you learned to ballroom dance in?" I asked, remembering how good of a dancer he had been at the Winter Formal.</p><p>Adam nodded sheepishly. I squealed and clapped my hands. "Oh, that is fabulous! I wish I could see it! You have a real, actual ballroom?"</p><p>Adam paused, and I worried that I had hit another short fuse before we made eye contact, and my heart jumped. "Do you want to see it?" he asked directly.</p><p>I gasped. "Really?" I asked in surprise. This was the most I knew about him up til now, and now he was inviting me to his house!</p><p>He nodded. "It's an hour and a half train ride away, so if you don't want to --"</p><p>"No!" I interrupted, almost diving across the table with excitement. "I want to! Oh, this is so exciting!"</p><p>Adam gave me a small smile and flagged down our waitress to ask for the bill, which he gracefully paid, and then he stood up abruptly as I scurried to follow him into the snow, hastily pulling on my mittens and my white scarf, wrapping it around my nose to shield it from the chill.</p><p>Adam led me down to the metro, stopping once in a while to wait for me to catch up to his long strides, and we squished together into a crowded car, heading to the train station.</p><p>When we arrived, Adam knew exactly where to go, leading me to buy two tickets to Champagne-Ardennes and then hurrying onto the next train, getting seats on the upper level. I sat down with an exhale, my cheeks flushed, and watched outside as we slowly left the bustling train station, moving into a snowy countryside.</p><p>The train ride itself was nice. I told Adam some stories of my childhood; how it was just me and Big Daddy, in our old mansion in New Orleans. How I had become friends with Tiana as a baby and how her mother made me dresses. He seemed to forget that I wasn't supposed to be friends with Tiana anymore, because I was supposed to be on Vanessa's side. I told him about my interest in the fashion industry, and how I wanted to help Mrs. Orleans with designs for her future dress boutique. I told him about the time I had kissed a frog on a dare from Tiana, and how I had had to go to the hospital afterwards because I got salmonella.</p><p>Adam warned me that his house was big and old and the decorations were a little out of date. I waved the statements away. "No house is too big for me, suga!" I said with a grin.</p><p>After an hour and a half, the train slowly pulled into the station of Champagne-Ardennes. It was outside, so the people waiting on the platform were shivering and hurried onto the train after we stepped off. I hugged myself and followed Adam out of the lobby and onto the streets of the town.</p><p>It was definitely a small town. Everyone seemed to know everyone, and when Adam emerged from the building, people right and left began to greet him in French, shouting "Adam, mon cher! Tu es de retour bientôt?"</p><p>He hugged a pretty girl who kissed him on both cheeks, and I felt a pang of jealousy rise in me, before we walked away and he told me that she was his cousin, Annaleise.</p><p>I followed Adam though the small cobblestone streets until they eventually faded away to a worn dirt road, the snow cleared off but blanketing the grass around us. "Um, Adam, are you sure we didn't pass it?" I asked, glancing back at the town, whose chimney's were smoking warmly and the murmur of chatter began to die away.</p><p>He chuckled. "I'm sure."</p><p>We walked for what seemed to be a mile, uphill, before we finally reached the hillcrest. It revealed a large stone castle, cornered by four tall pillars and surrounded by an icy moat. The castle's rooftop and spires were dusted with sparkling snow, as were the trees that surrounded the perimeter of the property. Two smaller stone houses rested on either side of the castle's moat, and to the left was a large building for the stables.</p><p>I gasped. "Adam! You didn't tell me you lived in a castle!" I rushed forward, stumbling through the snow to get a closer look at the building.</p><p>He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's more of a chateau."</p><p>"Oh, shush. This is absolutely wonderful, Adam!" I cried, and hurried towards it to marvel at the chateau in front of me. A sign in the front called it Chateau de Landreville. </p><p>Adam walked up beside me, looking at it. "I rent it out most of the year, while I'm at school. It's like a museum and sometimes people use it for weddings and stuff."</p><p>I smiled at him eagerly. "Can I go in?"</p><p>Adam gave me a small grin and motioned towards the front doors. "Be my guest."</p><p>I squealed and, without thinking, took his hand to lead him over the bridge and in through the wooden front doors. Inside, behind a desk, stood a tall man with long auburn hair and a long nose, fiddling through some papers with another shorter, plumper man with a small mustache. The tall one spoke in a strong French accent. "I swear to you, Cogsworth, the reservations were scheduled for next month. The master said to keep these few weeks open in case --" They both paused and looked up, and their faces glowed at the sight of Adam.</p><p>"Master Adam!" the short guy called Cogsworth cried in a British accent, shuffling around the desk to greet us. "Oh, how marvelous of you to come by! Everything is perfectly in order, no problems at all." He shot a glare towards the French man, who rolled his eyes but nonetheless stepped out from behind the desk. He glanced at my hand in Adam's, and Adam quickly dropped it.</p><p>"Welcome home, Master," the tall man said. He raised his eyebrows, glancing between me and Adam. "Well, well, well, who might this lovely mademoiselle be?" he asked, and he kissed my hand, which made me giggle.</p><p>"Well, bonjour," I said, fanning my face. "I'm Charlotte LaBouff. People call me Lottie."</p><p>The man introduced himself as Lumiere, and then declared, "We must have a tour at once! Cogsworth --"</p><p>Adam held up a hand. "I think I'll take Lottie on the tour myself. Thanks, though, Lumiere."</p><p>Cogsworth seemed a little deflated at this, but he bowed and scuttled behind the desk again. "Will you fetch Mrs. Potts, though?" Adam asked. "We could use some warming up."</p><p>Lumiere made a sweeping bow and hurried off down the hallway. Adam looked down at me. "That is," he said, "if you would like a tour."</p><p>I beamed up at him. "Of course I would!"</p><p>Adam began to walk down the hallway that led to a grand staircase which we ascended. I felt like a princess as I ran my hand delicately over the railing. Adam led me through some bedrooms. They were lovely, with large windows looking across the white grounds. Fireplaces crackled heartily in each of the rooms. Ornate chairs and wardrobes and beds decorated the rooms in gold and fine silk. The master bedroom, which was Adam's, was the largest, and had the best view of the broad land that stretched over the hill. His bed was magnificent, with drapes above and a golden headboard, a small carving of a beast's head on the top.</p><p>We walked back down the stairs and Adam showed me the dining room, which held a long table, a huge fireplace, and fancy curtains adorning the big glass windows. Even though it was only late afternoon, the table was set with glowing candles and about 3 forks for each plate. A crystal chandelier hung over it, and a harpsichord stood in the corner. "You really are rich," I said lightly to Adam, but he only gave a sad smile in return.</p><p>"Just wait until you see the ballroom," he said. But apparently we were saving that for last, because then he took me into the basement, where there were low stone ceilings and grand couches, and then to two of the living rooms, which each had a piano. He also had a very impressive library, with shelves of books towering to the ceiling.</p><p>Finally, he brought me to a set of large wooden doors, and I could hardly keep my excitement down. "This," he said, placing a large hand on the ringed handle, "is the ballroom."</p><p>He pushed open the doors to reveal an enormous room that was almost completely gold. One wall was entirely windows, and led onto a balcony outside. A huge chandelier hung in the middle of the painted ceiling, and marble and gold pillars surrounded the marble floor. I took a few steps inside, my shoes ringing around the room, and realized I was holding my breath.</p><p>I turned around to face Adam, who nervously stared at me. "Do you like it?" he asked, his hands clasped behind him.</p><p>I grinned. "I love it!" I shrieked, doing a little twirl. "This is where you practice ballroom dancing?"</p><p>He nodded, taking some more steps inside. "Mrs. Potts taught me, but these days I don't really have anyone to practice with."</p><p>I glanced up at him, trying to gauge his expression. He looked back at me intently, and I started to say, "Can you teach me?"</p><p>But before I got the chance, a woman's voice cried from the doors, "Oh, there you dears are! I've been scurrying all over to find you!"</p><p>I looked over Adam's shoulder to see a plump old woman with white hair and a purple bonnet, pushing a silver cart with a little boy with blonde hair at her hip. "I found them, mama!" he exclaimed, showing off his pearly white baby teeth. The front one was missing, making him even more adorable.</p><p>"Very good, Chip," the old woman said fondly.</p><p>"Adam!" Chip cried, and he ran towards Adam, who scooped him up and spun him around in the air, making him giggle.</p><p>"How are you, Chip? You've been good for your mother?" Adam asked after he set him down and ruffled his hair. Chip nodded eagerly, and the woman walked towards us.</p><p>"Hello, dear, I'm Mrs. Potts, I'm one of the housekeepers," she said, taking my hand and patting it.</p><p>"Lottie," I replied with a smile.</p><p>Chip appeared in front of me with a beaming smile. "You are very pretty," he said, gazing up at me.</p><p>I put a hand over my mouth and laughed. "Thank you very much! You are very cute yourself!" I told him.</p><p>"Would you two like some tea? Just brewed it myself," Mrs. Potts suggested, motioning to the cart which was filled not only with a tea set, but sandwiches and scones.</p><p>We enjoyed the snack in front of the fireplace in one of the living rooms, and I was immediately warmed up. As one of the servants played the piano in the background, Mrs. Potts told me about how she had practically raised Adam. Adam blushed as she talked about how difficult it was to potty train him, and how he had learned to ride horses at age 5. Suddenly, right before my eyes, Adam became way more than a smoking hot, broody football player, but a kind, caring man who grew up alone in this expansive chateau, with this sweet housekeeper as his main motherly figure.</p><p>After a few more hours in the house (Lumiere insisted that we have dinner there, and it was delicious - the gray stuff was fantastic), we hurried back to the train station as the snow picked up. Adam covered me with his blue coat as we ran through the village to catch the last train, and I smiled at him as we brushed water off ourselves once we were in our seats.</p><p>"Thank you for taking me here, Adam," I said to him as the train slowly pulled out of the station, back to Paris.</p><p>He took off his coat and laid it on the seat next to him. "Thank you for not thinking I'm a freak," he responded.</p><p>I studied him. "Why would I think you're a freak?"</p><p>He shrugged. "People call me 'the Beast' for a reason."</p><p>I smiled. "Well, there's no reason I can think of, suga. I mean, besides the fact that you're really tall and strong."</p><p>But Adam didn't smile, he didn't look up at me, and he didn't meet my eyes even as we parted ways in our hotel lobby. But something had changed. It was like there was something there that wasn't there before. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed it -- once again, I barely edited this so I'm sorry if there are some discontinuities. I hope you're all doing well, and that you're having a nice summer break!</p><p>this was a light chapter I guess, because we had a cute little rule-breaking scenario with Hiccup and Merida [as friends] and then Gaston who "has his sights set on" Belle. how do you think that will turn out? do you think Belle will end up with Adam or will Lottie? how do you feel about Lottie's crush on Adam, knowing that he's done horrible things to our girl Meg?? will Lottie ever find out about that?? stay tuned...</p><p>Question of the Chapter (stolen from @Kimberly1612 again im sorry I love ur questions): What is your favorite (non-castle) Disney house?</p><p>My Answer: i love Aurora's cottage in the woods with the fairies, but upon further browsing, I would also like to mention Giselle's house in the cartoon woods, its so cute and the perfect amount of elegant and cozy :)</p>
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<a name="section0047"><h2>47. Chapter 47</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>WENDY</p><p>Alice, Peter, and I had decided to take a walk in a park after our early dinner. We stopped at the fountain in the center, shivering, and I could tell that the two of them were eager to keep moving. "You two continue on, I'll just be a few minutes. I would like to look at the fountain for a while," I said, waving away my friends. Peter looked down at Alice, shrugged, and then childishly smacked her arm while yelling "tag!" and sprinting away, Alice hot on his heels.</p><p>I laughed at them fondly and turned to observe the fountain. The water's spray cooled my face, and I closed my eyes in the peacefulness.</p><p>Suddenly, a voice was right next to me, speaking in elaborate French. My eyes snapped open and I looked to my left. An older man, about 40, was staring at me with shoulder-length curly black hair and the most ridiculous spiraled moustache I had ever seen. He was looking at me expectantly.</p><p>"Oh," I said with a realization. "I beg your pardon, I don't speak French."</p><p>"Ah, English? I speak English as well, mademoiselle. I just said that you had very pretty eyes," he said smoothly. He reached up to twirl his moustache, but my heart jolted. In place of his left hand was a steel hook.</p><p>I cleared my throat, trying to avert my eyes from the glinting metal. "Um, thank you, but I really must be returning to my friends," I said, shifting away uncomfortably and desperately scanning the park for Alice and Peter.</p><p>"Are you American?" he inquired, taking a menacing step forward.</p><p>"No, I'm British, but I really should be going," I said, the fear mounting in my voice as the man's face split into a sinister smirk. I finally spotted Dean Queen a ways away, and I began walking in her direction to get away from this creepy man.</p><p>I felt a sharp, cold tug on my wrist, and turned my head to see the man's hook latched onto me as he glared into my face, a hungry look in his eyes. "I just want to talk to you, mademoiselle."</p><p>Panic was rising in my chest, and I grasped at his hook, trying to release myself aa I cried, "No, please!"</p><p>"Hey! Let go of her," someone said, and the both of us looked to see the owner of the voice. Tinkerbell was stalking towards us, in all her 4'9" glory. Her face was red with anger as she stared down the Hooked Man.</p><p>"Oh, you have a pretty friend too!" he exclaimed, his face darkening down at Tink, who had balled her tiny fists.</p><p>"Let go of her, sir," she said darkly, not breaking her stare.</p><p>"I think -" the man said as he grabbed Tink's wrist with his free hand, but before he had time to enlighten us with his idea, Tink's knee flew between his legs and he released us both, a small scratch of blood being drawn from my wrist as his hook dragged away from me.</p><p>"Let's go!" Tink ordered, grabbing me by my other wrist and dragging me into the woodlands of the park, leaving the Hooked Man bowing in pain. We dove behind a bush, panting.</p><p>"You okay?" Tink asked, letting me go and then examining my bloodied cut.</p><p>I stared at her in awe, her nimble hands dancing over mine. "Why did you do that?" I finally asked.</p><p>She shrugged, dropping my arm. "Girls gotta stick together. That man had some real nerve."</p><p>"Thank you," I said genuinely, hoping she would look into my eyes. She did.</p><p>She shrugged again. "You're my friend. I know we're supposed to be fighting, but..."</p><p>I shook my head quickly. "I wish we weren't. I've forgiven you."</p><p>Tink dropped her gaze, pushing around a few pebbles on the ground. "You shouldn't, though. I realize that what I did was really wrong, and I'm really sorry. But I understand that Alice and Peter hate me."</p><p>"They don't, though. I think they secretly want to be friends too. Just like old times," I said, thinking back on our ninth grade days.</p><p>"But I hurt you guys. All three of you."</p><p>"I hurt you and Alice too," I said, regret in my heart. "You've known Peter for years, and then I waltzed in just as a freshman and stole him. I should've asked you and Alice if it was okay. I was insensitive."</p><p>Tink looked up at me for a few silent seconds. "Peter's happy. That's all I wanted."</p><p>I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "And you're his best friend. I think he's ready to forgive you."</p><p>"After only 4 weeks?" she asked doubtfully.</p><p>I chuckled. "You and I both know that Peter can only stay mad at someone for a maximum of two weeks."</p><p>She smiled and agreed. I stood, brushing off my shorts, and offered her my hand. "Come on. Let's go set things right."</p><p>Tink obliged and took my hand, and I marched towards Peter and Alice, who were sitting on a metal bench, laughing. They heard us approaching, and Alice avoided Tinkerbell's eyes, while Peter scowled at Tink, who shrank. "What's going on, Wendy?" Peter asked, looking at me.</p><p>"Peter," I said, holding my chin high and edging Tinkerbell to stand beside me, "it's time that you forgive Tinkerbell. She is your best friend, Peter."<br/>Peter looked at her, scrutinizing her expression. She began her apology: "I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry to both of you. Well, all of you." She glanced at me, and I nodded at her encouragingly. "I have a problem with jealousy, and anger, but I realize now that what I did was horrible. I'll never get involved with your relationship again." Tink looked down, fiddling with her tiny hands and waiting for a response.</p><p>Both Peter and Alice stared at her, but I couldn't read their expressions. Peter stood up to face Tink, and she looked up to meet his eyes, tears brimming hers. "Tink," Peter said seriously. It was the most serious I had ever seen him. "Your friendship means more to me than anything in the whole world."</p><p>I smiled as Tinkerbell gave a measly, watery laugh and threw her arms around him, crying.</p><p>When she had finally dabbed her eyes dry, the four of us threw our arms around each other's shoulders and traipsed further through the park, smiling and talking, just like the old times. </p><p> </p><p>QUASIMODO </p><p>Through the twilight, I looked up at the enormous cathedral before me, it's walls washed in the excess of the sunset that had just concluded moments ago. Something about this place -- the Notre Dame specifically -- made me feel at home.</p><p>I stepped through the doors and an immediate peace fell around me. The church was filled with the whispers of prayers and the confessions of sin. Candles flickered off the walls, and soft sunlight spilled through stained glass. It looked as if it were Heaven's light. Images of saints surrounded the walls and I studied them in admiration. Footsteps echoed within the stone walls, and I felt entirely at peace.</p><p>Making my way down the aisle, I squeezed into one of the pews and kneeled, looking up at the glowing cross and statue of Jesus. I closed my eyes and prayed. When I was finished, I continued making my way along the walls to look at the stained glass, the paintings and carving of Biblical scenes.</p><p>But then someone's voice seemed to ring through the church, even though it was no more than a whisper. I turned, searching for the owner, and my eyes found Esmeralda standing directly in front of a statue of Virgin Mary, murmuring to herself.</p><p>She was truly beautiful. Small snowflakes contrasted her raven black hair, golden jewelry glinted off her brown skin and her face seemed at peace, bathed in the dying light of the sun through the glass.</p><p>And her appearance wasn't the only beautiful thing about her. She had shown true kindness to me since I met her, something I hadn't experienced in a long time. I loved being around her, speaking with her about her interests in dance and activism, and her listening to me gush about my passions. She made me feel safe, and cherished. Sometimes I even thought that there was something more than friendship there; a touch on the arm, a wink across the room, a hug a few seconds longer than usual.</p><p>I had the urge to talk to her, but I thought better of it, as she seemed to be in deep concentration on her prayers, and on the church's beauty. So I turned and sought out a staircase, making my way to the second floor and then the third, finally climbing a familiar ladder to emerge in the bell tower of the cathedral.</p><p>I was home again. The magnificent bells towered above me, and the city of Paris expanded for miles. I regarded the stone statues that guarded the church, and marveled at the stone and wood that made up the room and the railings.</p><p>"Do you remember this bell tower?" I whipped around to see Master Frollo standing at the mouth of the trapdoor, tall and regal, looking around at the bells above him.</p><p>My mouth was agape in surprise. "Master," I stuttered, "What are you doing up here?"</p><p>My master glanced at me, and a shiver ran down my deformed spine. "Quasimodo, do you remember this bell tower at all?"</p><p>I looked up, one of the bells directly above me, prepared to strike and swallow me whole. I looked back at my master, whose eyes were boring into me. "Of course, I remember," I said, flashbacks running through my head like a film reel. "This is where you took me after you saved me from the orphanage."</p><p>Master Frollo began walking around the space, clouds of dust rising from the wooden floorboards. No one had lived up here since I did, 8 years ago.</p><p>"That's right," Master answered. "After I mercifully took you under my wing, we took sanctuary here. Eight years we lived here. I became archdeacon of the church while you held the occupation of bell-ringer."</p><p>I remembered scurrying up rickety wooden ladders to reach the highest bells, having to use all of my bodyweight to pull the ropes to move the heavy bells. I performed my duties every night and morning without fail, as Master Frollo did with his duties of justice and prayer.</p><p>"We could come back here, you know," Master Frollo said. "I could resume my archdeacon duties and you could take sanctuary in the bell tower. We would have safety, shelter, food, clothing, education...it would be like it was before."</p><p>"But..." I walked over to the stone railing, looking over the dark city. I could hear my classmates down below, laughing and shrieking with delight, a sound that I had become so used to on school campus. "I like it out there. I want to stay with my...with my friends." I smiled a bit to myself; before high school, I had never had any friends. Now, with Esmeralda, Hercules, Belle, Eric, Rapunzel, Giselle, Edward, and everyone who cared for me, I felt more safe than I ever had.</p><p>Master Frollo grimaced. "Those children -- those teenagers don't care about you. You only have two years left, Quasimodo. Then what are you going to do? All of your friends will leave you, and you will be alone once more. The world is cruel. But you can trust me."</p><p>My grip tightened on the stone, dread filling my stomach when I thought of living alone in this tower, with only Frollo to talk to. I turned to face him. "No, you're wrong. My friends wouldn't leave me."</p><p>Frollo regarded me in silence, his frown deepening. I forced myself not to shrink, not to give in anymore to my crippled stance under his gaze. His eyes were void of any compassion, but I knew he only wanted what's best for me. He just wanted to protect me, but I knew that I would go insane without my friends to talk to. I could vaguely remember talking to the stone gargoyles of the church when I had nothing to do.</p><p>Mater Frollo finally spoke. "Fine. But remember, I warned you of the wickedness of this world. Especially that Romani, Esmeralda."</p><p>I straightened as much as I could, my blood boiling. "What?"</p><p>"She's a vile witch," he said, touching his fingertips together to stroll to my side, gazing over the city. "That dancing of hers is despicable. No girl her age -- no woman whatsoever, for that matter -- should be that seductive. Believe me, Quasimodo, I've tried my hardest to throw her out of this school to protect you and your pure intentions, but Mickey insists on keeping her. Don't worry, though. She will be out of our way soon."</p><p>I could barely get my thoughts together. He was trying to have Esmeralda thrown out of school because of her dancing? To me, she dances like an angel. "She hasn't done anything wrong," I protested, fighting down anger towards my guardian. "Just because you don't like her style doesn't mean she deserves to be kicked out."</p><p>Frollo scoffed. "Her style is that of the devil, child. It worries me that you do not recognize this."</p><p>I summoned all the courage I possessed and looked my master in the eyes. "You're wrong."</p><p>Master Frollo quickly raised his hand and slapped me across the face, causing me to fall to my knees. Master Frollo's black pants rustled in front of my stinging cheek, and I fought down a cry, because I knew what I had to do next. "Do not challenge me, Quasimodo. Remember, without me, you would be dead."</p><p>A pit of guilt formed in my stomach, and tears pierced my eyes. I knew he was right. Who was I to be ungrateful to him? I kissed my master's shoes before I could stagger to stand, keeping my head down.</p><p>Master Frollo took my ugly face into his kind, soft hands, studying my red and burning cheek. His face seemed softer as he examined me, and I couldn't help but feel safe in his hold. He then let go, waving his hand off. "Go," he dismissed. "Have dinner with your... 'friends.'"</p><p>I ducked my head in thanks and quietly made my way to the trapdoor, taking one last look at my sanctuary, my old home, before disappearing into the heart of Notre Dame. </p><p> </p><p>PHOEBUS</p><p>As I stepped over the church's threshold, a new wave of coldness washed over me. The ceilings were high and I felt small, the stone eyes of saints looking down on me reproachfully. I shivered and continued to walk forward, my shoes making loud clomps against the floor as candles flickered around me.</p><p>I finally neared the center of the church, where pews were lined up to face the giant cross in the natural spotlight. In my awe of the figure, I didn't realize I bumped right into a girl walking briskly in the opposite direction. "Sorry!" I exclaimed, earning a shush from someone nearby.</p><p>The mystery girl huffed and tried walking away, but I took her wrist to stop her. "Hey!" she said, yanking herself out of my grip. She turned abruptly, and her black hair revealed the face of Esmeralda, with those perfect green eyes. They gave me butterflies, and I felt like she could stare right into my soul without even trying. "Phoebus?" she asked, squinting.</p><p>I gave a small smile, brushing some blonde hair away from my eyes. "Hi, Esmeralda. Didn't think I'd run into you in here."</p><p>She pondered me for a second, but her stance was less rigid, more relaxed now. "You're Christian?"</p><p>I stared at her, kind of surprised (and kind of entranced by her beauty) before hurriedly answering, "Oh, no. But my name does mean 'sun god.'" I glanced at her, but she didn't seem impressed, so I continued talking. "It's just that this place holds a lot of history, you know? It's gone through revolutions and wars and countless battles, and yet it's still here, holding its haven." Esmeralda rolled her eyes. I knew she wasn't into war stuff, but I thought revolutions would interest her. She was always sharing civil rights petitions on social media, and she was the head of one of the activism clubs at school. She'd started a feminism group called 'More Than Princesses.' She was also always wearing peace sign clothing and accessories, so I assumed she was against the military, but that definitely wasn't in my favor because the army was basically my only interest. My father had been a war general, and it was my goal to follow in his footsteps. I shook off my internal monologue and proceeded to ask her, "What about you? I never pegged you as a religious person." I actually internally thought that she might be one of those witch people, but I decided not to bring that up.</p><p>Esmeralda crossed her arms, looking me up and down. "Oh really?"</p><p>I panicked, and stammered, "I mean, unless you are, which is cool too."</p><p>"Why did you think that I was religious?" she asked, and I fought to keep my gaze on her face. <br/>I shrugged and responded, "You just struck me as the feminist, atheist, human rights activist kind of girl."</p><p>"Is that how you see me?"</p><p>My eyes darted to the side. I felt like this was a trap, and despite the cold air, I felt sweat rolling down my neck. "Well, yeah." Esmeralda raised an eyebrow. "I mean no! I mean, there's a lot more to you as well." Damn, Phoebus, you're really blowing it.</p><p>Esmeralda glanced me up and down again, before tilting her chin up defiantly. "You have a lot of guts, stepping into a church." </p><p>Well, that's not where I thought this was going. "I'm sorry? Did I...do something?"</p><p>She scoffed with disapproval, rolling her eyes. "Just touching me without my consent, on my waist, on my wrist, my shoulders. What makes you think you have entitlement to my body when I do not state it so? You're a filthy, corrupt son of a--"</p><p>I held my hands up in protest, as she was taking defensive steps towards me. "Ah, ah, ah!" I warned. "We're in a church." Esmeralda let out a gasp of disbelief, so I put down my hands, lacing them behind my back. "And, for the record, I would like to say I'm sorry for that. I didn't realize I was doing it, and I never meant to make you uncomfortable." What I said was completely genuine. I hadn't even realized that I had been so touchy, but now that she pointed it out, I became uncomfortable with my own self.</p><p>She stood back, surveying me, her eyes piercing into mine like a human lie detector test. Finally, she seemed to come to the conclusion that I passed. "Fine, just...don't do it anymore. To me or anyone else."</p><p>I saluted her. "Roger that."</p><p>Esmeralda started walking towards the exit, and I hung back, unsure of whether to follow until she turned her head and motioned for me to keep up. I fell into step beside her, fighting down a grin. "You hungry?" she asked me out of the blue.</p><p>"Oh, um, sure," I answered, nervous of where this was going to go. Was she asking me out? Already?</p><p>"Come on. I know this tavern." She slipped out of the church with me on her heels and we wove through the streets of Paris. Esmeralda seemed to know the place better than our own school, and she quickly delved deeper and deeper into the poorer side of the city, with beggars camping out for the night and musicians packing away their things.</p><p>"Here it is," Esmeralda finally said, and I looked up to read La Pomme d'Ève. The Apple of Eve. If that couldn't set the tone, I don't know what would. Through the windows, light shone and shadows passed quickly. Esmeralda pulled me inside.</p><p>"Esmeralda!" people shouted at our entrance, and she was immediately whisked away by people who looked just like her. People with brown skin, black hair, the same nose configurations. I was left alone, so I silently made my way to the bar, ordering a beer, the bartender happily complying without any ID request.</p><p>Sipping my drink, I watched the crowd talk and dance and sing joyfully, some drunk, some not. Finally I spotted Esmeralda again. She was leading some well-known dance, complete with clapping and stomping her feet, the jangles of bracelets and gold echoing through the tavern. I was enchanted. Her smile seemed to light up the room a thousand times more than the candles themselves. Her eyes brightened at her dance, her feet moving rhythmically through the people. I realized she had removed her shoes and was jumping around barefoot. She had shed her coat and her scarf, and her blue skirt billowed out around her. Someone had thrown a bejangled shawl over her shoulders, and her music rang through the air, piercing my heart.</p><p>The music picked up. "Ándo bírto zhas</p><p>Thai mol piyas</p><p>Amáre love das</p><p>Thai mol piyas!"</p><p>Enraptured in the dance, Esmeralda caught my eye. She waved me forward, beckoning me into the crowd. I held up my hands in refusal, pointing to my beer and giving an ironic shrug. She rolled her eyes, and that alone was enough for me to reluctantly set down my drink and pick my way through the dancers before I finally met her. She was singing. "Winter is dying</p><p>Thai mol piyas</p><p>You'll keep me warm until morning." I knew she was just reciting the lyrics, but a glint in her eyes told me something more. She took my hands and moved them to copy her dance. I was definitely way less graceful than her, but I smiled and tried to mirror her footwork. "Pleasure is fleeting</p><p>Ándo bírto zhas</p><p>So lips will be meeting</p><p>Thai mol piyas!"</p><p>The song ended with a cheer, Esmeralda and I panting while keeping eye contact with each other. Her emerald green eyes shone with elation, and I realized that my arms were around her waist. I had the urge to kiss her, but before leaning down, I smugly asked, "Can I kiss you?"</p><p>She smirked and put her hand behind my head, murmuring, "Yes." Our lips connected, and I lifted her off the floor. The world around seemed to move in slow motion as people shouted with glee. I was filled with pure bliss. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>TIANA</p><p>I knocked on the door, continuously checking my watch with worry. The door opened to display Milo, his nose stuck in a notebook with a larger book under his arm, a pen between his teeth. Removing it, he grinned at me. "Hi, Tiana!"</p><p>I smiled. "Hi, Milo. Is Naveen here?"</p><p>Milo looked at me with slight confusion, before going to retrieve Naveen for me. He appeared in a loosely buttoned shirt, with suspenders on. When he saw me waiting impatiently, his eyes widened. "That's tonight?" he asked in surprise.</p><p>I exhaled in exasperation. "Yes, Naveen, that's tonight. Did you forget?"</p><p>"No!" he quickly responded, dodging to grab his coat. "No, I definitely did not forget. I'm ready, aren't I?" He proudly motioned to his outfit.</p><p>I rolled my eyes and began walking down the hallway towards the elevator, Naveen closing his door and hurrying after me. "So, how long is this cooking class anyway?" he asked me, shouldering on his brown coat as we made our ways towards the metro station.</p><p>"You bored already, Naveen?" I joked, also pulling on my green coat and hat over my yellow sweater.</p><p>He scoffed, running his hand through his brown hair. "I was just wondering."</p><p>"It's two and a half hours. I'm so excited! Chef Skinner is one of the best here in Paris," I gushed, barely containing my anticipation.</p><p>We boarded the metro, and I somehow found myself talking about my plans for a restaurant in the future. Naveen listened politely as I said, "There's this old buildin' in New Orleans that I've had my eye on for years. I just don't know how I'm goin' to afford it, and fix it up and everythin'. I'll probably end up doin' most of the handiwork myself, but it'll still cost a lot."</p><p>Naveen studied me, clutching onto the railing above him as we swayed through the underground tunnels. "I would help you pay for it, but, uh, I'm not very financially stable myself these days," he said sheepishly.</p><p>I gave him an annoyed look. "Don't play modest with me, Naveen. Everyone knows you're rich with your family's money. You don't know the first thing about actually having to work for what you believe in."</p><p>That seemed to shut him up, and we awkwardly walked the rest of the way to the cooking school, a large, antique looking building with a man's unpleasantly moustached face plastered along the windows. Naveen grimaced at the sight. "That's what he looks like?"</p><p>I held back a chuckle at the chef's bulging eyes and said to Naveen, "It doesn't matter what he looks like. It's the food that matters. You'll see."</p><p>We stepped inside the building, taking off our warm overclothes and heading into the room that other people were walking inside, talking cheerfully in many languages, some of which I couldn't even recognize. We took an empty station, a small counter with a stove, an oven, and other ingredients and utensils laid out. I immediately felt comfortable, looking over the tools that we had to work with. Naveen and I pulled on the provided aprons, which Naveen thoroughly disliked.</p><p>Finally, the room seemed to hush as the doors opened, but I didn't see anyone walk through. People started whispering as I strained my neck to see the source of short footsteps heading towards the center of the room. A white chef's hat appeared, and then a short man climbed a step ladder onto a tall table. It was Chef Skinner.</p><p>Beside me, Naveen's jaw dropped. I stepped on his toe to make sure that he wouldn't end up exclaiming anything offensive. No one said a word as Chef Skinner examined us with narrowed, suspicious eyes. He spoke. "This will be one of the most advanced cooking classes you will ever take. If you don't know how to sear, cut, or season, you may leave my kitchen at once."</p><p>Naveen shifted beside me, and I bit my lip. Was inviting him with me a mistake? I should have taken Snow, or Rapunzel. Naveen had told me on the way here that he had never even made toast for himself. I mentally smacked myself and hoped that we would both get out of here alive. </p><p>But I held my chin high and prepared to cook. I knew what I was doing, and I could take care of Naveen too. Chef Skinner continued in French, pacing the table. "This evening we will be preparing lamb chops with a cognac dijon cream sauce, as well as profiteroles for dessert. We begin!"</p><p>We all set to work, scanning the recipes that were set out before us and rushing to the fridges and freezers for ingredients. Chef Skinner began to instruct us on the configuration of the meal, starting with searing the lamb before putting it in the oven. Then we began the dough for the dessert pastries. When Naveen turned his stand mixer on, flour flew everywhere, coating his face and causing me to laugh. Skinner looked at us with reproach, so I quickly stopped chuckling and helped wipe up Naveen and his work space. I showed him how to add the flour gradually, and then we worked on the sauce for the lamb, mixing cognac, cream, shallots, and mustard. I stealthily showed Naveen how to chop the vegetables, because he was completely incompetant at it at first, but he began to learn.</p><p>Naveen then, of course, thought it was a good idea to pour an extra half cup of the alcohol, which I scolded him for. "Hey, this is France, no?" he asked with a smirk, and he took a swig for himself. I slapped his arm and went back to my work.</p><p>"You'd better watch out, Maldonia, or else I won't help you no more," I warned, and Naveen's eyes widened before he hastily capped the Cognac and put it away.</p><p>We took the lamb out of the oven, and Chef Skinner walked around with his step ladder to examine each one's doneness. Mine had reached an internal temperature of exactly 135 degrees, and when Skinner peered at the cutting of meat, he glanced up at me. "Very good, mademoiselle. Very good." He then moved onto Naveen, whose meat was still smoking. Its outside was almost completely burned, and Skinner scowled. "What is this? Is this a joke?" he asked in disgust.</p><p>"I'm trying my best, Chef," Naveen responded, but he was trying hard not to laugh down at the angry cook. I prayed that he would keep his mouth shut.</p><p>Thankfully, Skinner just said, "Work with this lady here. This lamb is practically inedible."</p><p>Naveen glanced at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Chef," he said, shoving it into the trash can next to him. As Chef Skinner continued on, Naveen leaned towards me and muttered, "He's like a tiny Gordon Ramsey."</p><p>I stifled a chuckle with my hand. We then piped our dough into circles, placing them into the oven and continuing to work on our lamb.</p><p>"Presentation is everything, students!" Chef Skinner shouted.</p><p>"Who cares how it looks?" Naveen asked, raising a thick eyebrow.</p><p>I elbowed him. "Only every serious cook ever. Presentation can make or break your meal."</p><p>Naveen scoffed at the thought, but he allowed me to douse our plate with herbs, swirling the sauce over the surface and sprinkling chopped green onions. Chef Skinner came around once more, inspecting our dish. He produced a new fork and knife and cut into it. "Very good tenderness...the sauce is perfect, yes....Yes! The dish is perfect!" My face split into a smile. I couldn't believe it. He looked up at me skeptically. "What did you say your name was, young lady?"</p><p>"Tiana Orleans, Chef," I told him, barely containing my glee.</p><p>"Hmm," he mused, stroking his chin. "I look forward to seeing your future, Miss Orleans. Stop by my restaurant some day, yes?"<br/>My heart leapt. "Yes, of course, Chef! Thank you!"</p><p>He nodded and moved on to the next station. I was dazed. He had called my food perfect. Chef Skinner! "Not bad," Naveen said, giving me a nudge.</p><p>I couldn't process anything. "Thanks," I answered, but then our oven started beeping, so I hastily took out our profiteroles before setting Naveen to work to chop some chocolate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We returned to our hotel with containers of profiteroles under our arms, having eaten the lamb on a bench by the Seine. It really was delicious. I had made sure to take a picture of the recipe, and I was excited to file it in my recipe binder back at home.</p><p>"So, how'd you like your first cookin' class, Naveen?" I asked on the walk home, pulling my coat closer to me.</p><p>"You know," he said, after some thought, "it wasn't as bad as I thought. I think I might change my whole career path and become a chef."<br/>I was shocked. "Really?"<br/>He looked down at me, his brown eyes full of light. "No. But it was very delicious."</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Well, thanks for agreeing to come with me. You appreciatin' food a little bit more now?"</p><p>Naveen made a show of tapping his chin with his gloved fingers. "Maybe. I'll just have to attend more cooking classes with you, now won't I?"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>PHILIP</p><p>"Yep. Three and a half years ago is when this all started," I sighed fondly. Today was mine and Aurora's 3.5 year anniversary, and I had set up dinner on the roof of our hotel. It was actually quite nice -- there were already tables up here, with some trees and string lights, as if the hotel owners knew that there would be anniversary dinners up here at some point. The city of Paris sparkled below us, with cars honking and the light chatter of Parisians echoing up to be whispers in our ears. The air was brisk but not too cold, and I had lit a couple candles to illuminate the table.</p><p>Aurora hummed. "Wow. The beginning of eighth grade. Thank god for puberty."</p><p>"Hey!" I gasped, laughing. "Well, I don't know about you, but I would have loved you baby fat and all."</p><p>She smiled and reached up to pat my cheek. "Okay, Mr. Braceface."</p><p>I laughed heartily. She truly looked beautiful. Her golden hair framed her perfect face, with her perfect smile and her perfect violet eyes. I was so lucky to have her. "Cheers," I said, raising my glass to her. It was full of white wine, which Aladdin has been secretly buying and selling to other students. It technically wasn't allowed, since we were on a school trip, but I figured that this was a special occasion.</p><p>"Cheers," Aurora replied, her eyes glinting over her glass as she took a delicate sip.</p><p>I reached over the table to take her hand in mine. "I'm so glad that you're my girlfriend," I told her, and I poured as much love into my voice as possible.</p><p>"I'm glad you're my boyfriend," she responded, lacing our hands together. She leaned over to kiss me sweetly. Then she looked down at the tablecloth, firelight dancing in her eyes. "And I'm glad you're so understanding and accepting of me...me and Cindy. You didn't have to do that."</p><p>I squeezed her hand. To be truthful, it was a little weird to have my girlfriend dating my friend at the same time, but I was starting to get used to it. I still got to spend the same amount of time with Aurora, and when I did, she seemed ten times happier. Although she had always been kind and joyful before, a new light had entered her smile, and she hummed to herself more often. She had become more affectionate with me too, and I honestly believed that sharing her was a good decision. It just showed how much love she had to give. "I wanted to," I told her, and she looked up to meet my eyes. "I love you, and you said you loved Cindy."</p><p>She inhaled. "I never said that."</p><p>I shrugged. "Well, that was what I gathered."</p><p>She groaned and placed her forehead on her palm, frowning. "What if I don't love her? What if this is all a big mistake? What if I hurt her?"</p><p>I took her other hand, forcing her to look at me again. "Listen. Nothing can come between your friendship, you know? And maybe you don't love her. Maybe this falls through. That's okay. You tried, and this is the time to try things," I said.</p><p>"But what if she really does love me and I don't?" she asked, worry filling her eyes. I realized how much this meant to her. "What then? She's alone. She left Henry for me, and I feel absolutely awful. She sobbed for a week, Philip. I would feel worse if she did all that for nothing."</p><p>"You know what?" I said with a knowing smirk. "You know why you're so worried about this?"</p><p>Rory shook her head and looked up at me, her innocent violet eyes looking for answers. "Because," I told her, "you care. That's something, isn't it?"</p><p>She finally let a smile come to her perfect face, looking up at me. "I love you, Philip. I will always love you." She leaned over again to give me a slow, beautiful kiss, and the world never felt more right than it did in her arms. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>MULAN</p><p>I slipped on my green sweatshirt over the white collared shirt, smoothing down my binder. I then looked into the mirror on the hotel room's wall, pulling on a black beanie to shield myself from the snow. I pondered at my reflection, before tucking my short black hair into the beanie, leaving a little on my forehead to make it seem like I had a short haircut. Satisfied with the result, I finally knocked on the door of the bathroom.</p><p>"You almost ready, Giselle?" I asked my girlfriend through the door.</p><p>"Coming!" she sang back, and the door was opened to reveal her in an adorable peach sweater, a black skirt with black tights, black heels, and a peach ribbon tumbling through her hair. She twirled in place, her skirt fanning out. "What do you think?"</p><p>I grinned at her. "I think you look beautiful," I said, and I took her cheeks between my hands to give her a soft kiss on the forehead.</p><p>She giggled and took my wrist. "You look very handsome," she told me, standing on her toes to kiss my nose. I smiled wider. That was one of the things I loved about Giselle: she went out of her way to validate my gender preference. Instead of just telling me that I "looked nice," she always said I was "handsome" or "charming," which made me feel not only confident, but more comfortable in my own skin, in my own masculinity.</p><p>I held out my hand to her. "You ready to go?" I asked.</p><p>"Yep! Just let me get my coat!" Giselle hurried over to the coat hanger to pull on her cream-colored trench coat, and I passed her her pink scarf, which she bundled up in.</p><p>We walked out of the hotel, hand in hand, and over the bridge to the mainland of Paris. Snow fell lightly around us as we strolled through the city, listening to the music that filled the streets. Giselle happily marveled at shopping windows we passed by, tugging me along. We stopped to watch a mime's performance for a few minutes, clapping when she finally escaped from her invisible box.</p><p>Giselle and I then hurried to the restaurant that she had picked out. It was small but charming, the lights glowing as people talked cheerfully and the waiters made amusing conversation with the diners. Giselle asked about her reservation, and we were led up a narrow flight of twisting stairs, so small that Giselle had to walk in front of me, still holding my hand.</p><p>When we reached our quaint table, the waiter said in a French accent, "Here you are, mademoiselles."</p><p>My stomach did a little flip and I cringed, stuffing one hand into my sweater's sleeve as we sat down. Giselle glanced at me and then back at the waiter and started to correct him, but I squeezed her hand appreciatively, telling her to let it go. If I tried to correct everyone who called me a girl, I would never have time for anything else. I just didn't pass well enough...yet.</p><p>We sat at a small clothed table, with a romantic candle in between us. The room was comfortably warm, and the window looked onto the river, a blurry light shining from a street lamp. "This is fantastic, Giselle," I told her, unfolding my menu while still grasping her tiny hand. "Really good choice."</p><p>She smiled at me. "I'm glad you like it! What do you think you're going to get?"</p><p>I scanned the menu, settling on a pasta dish while Giselle gazed outside, pointing out the little boats passing on the water and telling me about her day. We had visited the Notre Dame, but the two of us had been split into different tour groups, so I hadn't seen her most of the day.</p><p>When the waiter returned, I ordered us some champagne. Giselle clapped giddily when it arrived and the waiter poured us our glasses. I held mine up to her, making eye contact. "Happy one month anniversary, Giselle," I said with a smile, and she repeated me, clinking our glasses together and taking a dainty sip.</p><p>"It's like magic in a bottle!" she said excitedly, examining the bottle of the drink.</p><p>I smiled. "It's so odd that we've only been dating for a month," I remarked, thinking back on the week I had spent at Giselle's sister's apartment over Thanksgiving. Coming out to her as trans and her perfect reaction. The way she had held me close all night and when we confessed we loved each other at the Winter Formal. It all seemed like eons ago, but somehow she was with me at this moment, sharing my gaze as the firelight danced over her face.</p><p>"I know!" she replied, running her finger over my palm. "I feel like I've known you my whole life." </p><p>"Me too."</p><p>She looked at me bashfully. "It might be mean to say it, but I'm glad that Edward turned out to be gay."</p><p>I laughed, remembering the way she had turned to me when she broke up with Edward. "Me too. And I'm glad you turned out to be gay, too."</p><p>Her finger stopped running over my hand and she looked into her glass of sparkling gold. "I'm not sure if I'm gay, necessarily."<br/>I tilted my head. "Oh? What do you mean?"</p><p>She sighed, setting her glass down. "I just...I fall in love with personality. Like how generous and enthusiastic Edward is, and how kind, affectionate, strong, gentle, and compassionate you are."</p><p>I felt myself blushing fiercely, my chest filling with love and admiration for the beautiful girl in front of me. I took both of her hands and she looked up to lock eyes with me, her blue irises sparkling with hope and optimism that made me fall head over heels all over again. "Giselle, no matter what you are, I love you so much. I've never met someone as sweet, caring, and angelic as you."<br/>This time Giselle blushed, and we held hands, staring at each other before our food arrived with our jolly waiter, setting down plates and making us let go of each other. The dinner was delicious, and Giselle even got a little tipsy on champagne as we ended up finishing the whole bottle. I led her back down the tiny stairs and into the cold evening.</p><p>It was practically dark, but cafes were beginning to liven up as Parisians settled in for dinner. Giselle and I walked along the sidewalk next to the river, hand in hand, and regarded all of the civilians in their bustling city. Giselle tried to converse with a few pigeons, but when they flew off, she assured me that it was just because she doesn't speak French, and they couldn't understand her. I couldn't tell if that was the alcohol talking or just her.</p><p>On the way, we stopped at the last flower shop open, and we each bought each other a single pink rose, both of which I held so that Giselle could keep her other hand in her pocket.</p><p>We finally reached the destination that I had chosen to take her. It was a large bridge over the Seine, and the cords that made up the railings were riddled with love locks. Giselle gasped when she realized what I had planned. "Mulan, this is so romantic!" she cried with joy, kissing me on the cheek.</p><p>"Hey, you don't even know what I'm going to do yet!" I said playfully, and she giggled. She waited patiently as I pulled a small black box out of my coat pocket and opened it to her to display a small metal lock, which was engraved with Mulan + Giselle, as well as the year. She let out a small breath as she gingerly picked it up.</p><p>"It's beautiful," she told me.</p><p>"Giselle Andalasia," I said officially, beaming down at her, "will you do me the honor of placing this love lock on this bridge of Paris?"<br/>"Yes! I will!" She jumped up to throw her arms around me and I laughed, hugging her waist tightly and breathing in her strawberry scent. She let go, and Giselle and I scanned the bridge for an empty spot to place our lock. "Here!" she finally called, and I hurried over to see the perfect spot, right next to a small lamp that was supported by a statue of an angel. Just like Giselle.</p><p>I nodded. "It's perfect." I took the lock out of its box and handed it to my girlfriend. My fingers over hers, we both slipped the lock through the fence and clicked it into place, cementing our relationship in the City of Love.</p><p>"There." Giselle stepped back to admire it, and I did the same, pulling her close. She looked up at me. "Is there a key?"</p><p>"Oh, yeah. Duh." I fished in one of my pockets and clasped the metal key, handing it to her.</p><p>"Ready?" she asked brightly, and I nodded. Giselle stepped forward and tossed it into the river below. She turned around, radiant, and ran into my arms. I pulled her into a sweet and slow kiss as the city glowed around us, our love's key sinking to the bottom of Paris to stay there forever. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: hello friends! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! im hitting a quarantine productive streak, so im excited for all these new chapters! I realized that I still have a lot planned for Paris, so Im trying to cram a lot of povs per chapter, so sorry this is a lil long! also I kinda hate the Phoebus pov but im not used to writing him really. I just know that im currently obsessed with the hunchback of Notre dame musical, so... I am also working on an original YA novel and im really excited for that too. I may even see if I can try to get it actually published, but we're still in the first draft stage. anyyyways. </p><p>we got a tinkerbell/Alice/Peter/wendy make up! do you think it was deserved? then we got our first Quasimodo POV! I actually really liked writing for him, and of course I had to include him, Esmeralda and Phoebus in their hometown. who do you think Esme will end up with? milo, Phoebus, quasi, or no one? do you think Frollo will succeed in kicking her out? will Frollo act more on his bad intentions? Tiana and Naveen attended their first cooking class, do you think that they will become friends or perhaps even more? Aurora and Philip had a conversation about their new polyamorous relationship, but do you think it will last? I want to know what you guys think about that plot line! finally, it is Gislan's anniversary and I just love them so much. do you enjoy reading about them? do you think they'll last? </p><p>Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite Disney villain lair/castle/house? + What do you think about the Splash Mountain revision to the Princess and the Frog ride? </p><p>My Answer: I love Maleficent's castle. like she really popped off, she got the weather to match her color scheme and everything + I think the new ride will be fantastic! at Disneyland, the setting will be perfect because it's close to New Orleans Square so it's a perfect setting. plus Tiana deserves more recognition. the concept art looks amazing. yes splash mountain was nostalgic and there were nice memories with it, but it had racist basings and this whole time period is about reshaping our foundations to stop racist systems. it'll still be the same ride, just different timelines (and way better animatronics).</p>
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<a name="section0048"><h2>48. Chapter 48</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>MEGARA</p><p>Hercules and I were on our second date of the week in Paris. We had just finished our dinner at a nice restaurant and were taking a walk next to the freezing river, skirting around people picnicking on the edges of the bank.</p><p>Eventually he stopped, and I looked across the water before I felt Hercules take my hands in his. I looked up at him, dreading what I knew was to come.</p><p>Hercules smiled gently down at me, his blue eyes shining. "Meg," he said, his voice full of honesty and compassion, "you are the most special girl I've ever met. I've never felt this way around anyone before. I love you." I felt a pull in my gut. I tried to take my hands out of his grasp. My body instinctively felt like it needed to escape, but my heart stupidly told me to stay.</p><p>"You don't have to feel like you have to say it back," Hercules continued, gently squeezing my hands and looking imploringly into my face. "I know you don't want to and I understand, I just wanted you to know."</p><p>I shook my head, forcing back the prickling tears that were pooling in my eyes. "Hercules, I-"</p><p>He didn't force me to look up at him. He didn't tighten his grip on me. He simply said, in the kindest, most compassionate voice I'd ever hear, "I know."</p><p>I wanted to. I wanted to kiss him there and make him shut up with all his perfect words and forget about every horrid thing I was doing. But no matter what I felt, there wouldn't be truth to it, as long as I was under Hades's care. I wrenched my hands out of Hercules's and turned, running away as tears blurred my vision. I had to talk to Hades. I had to make this stop.</p><p>I finally slowed down my pace in some quiet-ish alleyway, occupied by only an empty homeless person's tent and blanket. I wiped the tears I hadn't realized had fallen and squeezed my arms against my body, trying to get myself to calm down. Hercules loved me, all because of an unfair mission that Hades had sent me on for money. And the worst part was that I was starting to love him back.</p><p>"There you are, Meggy-poo!"</p><p>I turned sharply, bristling at the sound of that voice. At the mouth of the alley stood Hades himself, dressed in a dark blue suit with a fur coat and scarf. He grinned maliciously, his hands outspread like he expected a hug.</p><p>"What are you doing here?" I demanded, fisting my palms.</p><p>Hades dropped his arms and stepped forward. "Well, you know how I have a headquarters in Paris, I thought I'd take a look at it, check in, see everything is in working order and then I remembered: 'Hey, isn't my little Megladon here too?' What a coincidence! So I thought I'd drop by and say a howdy-doo to my favorite adopted minion. So! What is the weak link in Wonderboy's chain? Something that will make the entire industry of Olympus crumble in my hands!"</p><p>I shivered with disgust. "Get yourself another girl," I told him, crossing my arms. "I'm through."</p><p>He laughed softly, stepping towards me again. "I'm sorry, can you say that again? I must have some wax shoved in my ear or something." He shoved a finger in his ear, flicking out his findings.</p><p>"Then read my lips!" I yelled, pointing to them. "Forget. It."</p><p>I started stomping past him, back into the bustling streets before his cold hand caught my arm. "Meg, Meg, Meg," he crooned. He snapped me back to his side as he squished my cheeks. "Aren't we forgetting one teensy-weensy, but ever so crucial little, tiny detail?" I rolled my eyes, before he jerked my face away, bellowing, "I OWN YOU!"</p><p>I stumbled backwards, regaining my balance. "Let it go, Hades!" I replied, standing my ground.</p><p>"You work for me! If I say 'Sing,' you say, 'Hey, name that tune!'" He snapped his fingers, wiggling his hips around. He then took my wrist again, his finger under my chin. "If I say, 'I want Wonderboy's heart on a platter,' you say...?"</p><p>I sighed, deciding to humor him. "'Medium or well done?'"</p><p>He clapped. "Perfect!"</p><p>"Yeah," I said. "I'm gonna have to work on that."</p><p>Hades perked up, putting a long-fingered hand to his ear. "Oh, wait! Do you hear that? That's the sound of your freedom, fluttering out the window!"</p><p>My intestines pinched at the thought of being destined to work for Hades forever, even after school, but I shook my head. "I don't care! I'm not gonna help you hurt him!"</p><p>Hades sighed. "I can't believe you're getting so worked up over some guy!"</p><p>I shook my head, imagining Hercules's kind eyes and smile. "This one is different," I told Hades truthfully. "He's honest, and he's sweet..."<br/>"Please."</p><p>"And he would never do anything to hurt me."</p><p>"He's a guy!"</p><p>"Besides O Oneness," I persisted, ignoring him as I felt some pride bubbling up inside me. "You can't beat him. He has no weaknesses!"</p><p>I grinned. I turned around to face Hades in triumph, and he stood there, inches from my face, grinning. "I think he does Meg. I truly think he does." </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>HERCULES</p><p>I returned to my hotel room, Meg-less, and sat on mine and Shang's bed, putting my head in my hands. I missed Meg. I had finally messed things up for good. I moved too fast in telling her I loved her, especially after she confided in me her trauma from her past. I should have known better, waited until she was ready. I just couldn't help it. I wanted the whole world to know that I was in love with her. The thought made me want to run around, flipping and lifting up cars and buildings. Just thinking of her seemed to give me strength.</p><p>But now she was probably scared of me, and it was all my fault. Could I make it up to her?</p><p>My thoughts were interrupted by my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I jumped up, hoping it was Meg. I looked at the screen. Dad. I sighed, answering the call. "Hey, Dad," I said sadly, falling back onto the bed.</p><p>"Hercules, my boy!" he boomed. I turned down my phone's volume. "You ready for your big meeting tomorrow?"</p><p>I frowned. "What?"</p><p>"Oh, don't tell me you forgot!" my dad chided playfully. Then I remembered: I was supposed to attend this big meeting for my dad's company, Olympus Prime Incorporated. It would make or break our deal with the international shipping base.</p><p>I rubbed my forehead, a headache creeping up on me. I never got headaches. "No, Dad, I didn't forget. Tomorrow. The big meeting."</p><p>I could tell Zeus was grinning, happy as can be. "That's right, son! This is going to be your gateway into the business world! After this meeting, it's you and me, running the biggest online company in the entire world! You'll be up here with the big boys, Hercules. You'll practically be a god!"</p><p>I sighed. My mind was elsewhere. I didn't care about being a god, a billionaire with an unreasonable amount of money to hoard from the rest of the world. I just wanted to make things right with Meg. "Yeah, Dad," I forced out, glad he couldn't see my face. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."</p><p>"All right, son. I know you'll be perfect!"</p><p>I hung up, lying back on the sheets. "Oh, Meg," I groaned, imagining her beautiful violet eyes gleaming up at me. "What do I have to do to get you back?"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next day started off on a bad foot. I woke up late, scrambling for the suit I had packed. It turned up wrinkly, but I didn't have a chance to get it ironed, as I was already running out of time. I gelled my hair back and straightened my tie in the mirror. I didn't have any notes with me. I had planned on typing some up the night before, but Meg had taken up all my thoughts. I didn't have room for business when she was dancing around in my head at all times.</p><p>"Good luck, Hercules!" Shang, David, and Quasimodo said to me as I dashed out the door. My dad's meeting was making me miss the school field trip to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysees today, but I guessed that that wasn't as important as the meeting.</p><p>I made sure to tell Fairy Godmother where I was going, and then hurried into the streets, down into the nearest metro station.</p><p>I got off in front of the giant building. It looked like a small castle, with the sign Hotel de Ville on the front. It was the city hall. I walked through security and was directed up some stairs. My hands were shaking as I was led into a room with glass doors, the view of the city sprawling from the bright windows. A long table was filled with rich, intimidating, annoyed-looking men, who chatted quietly amongst themselves. The noise stopped when I stumbled inside, and I tried to smooth down my shirt. I gave them a small, nervous smile. "Hi. I-I'm Hercules Olympus."</p><p>"Yes, of course!" The speaker was a skinny man, but one who I recognized. He was the head of shipping for our company, Hermes. "Come on over here, Herc, I saved a spot for you." I shot him a thankful look before settling into the rolling chair next to him. We were at the head of the table, and the others looked at me with what I hoped was indifference, rather than dissatisfaction.</p><p>"Now, we can finally get started!" Hermes announced, clapping his hands. One man stood up to walk over to the projector, displaying a graph. The meeting began.</p><p>I immediately zoned out. I caught a few words about Olympus's average profit in the beginning, but soon my thoughts were entirely caught up in ways I could try to apologize to Meg. A pair of new shoes? She liked the rings I got her for the Winter Formal, maybe I should get her some more jewelry. Though I didn't particularly enjoy the punk store I bought them at...</p><p>"Herc!" Hermes whispered harshly, kicking my shin under the table. I snapped back into the meeting, to be greeted with all the faces turned towards me.</p><p>"Do you have any propositions, Mr. Olympus?" the presenting man asked with a sneer.</p><p>I flushed, clearing my throat. "Um, could you repeat that last point?"</p><p>The presenter smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "We were discussing the potential benefits or disadvantages of extending your influence internationally. Do you have any insight on this subject?"</p><p>I reached in my mind for an answer, but I couldn't come up with anything. I stammered, "Well, I think my father would have a lot of...insight on that. But, obviously, he's not here right now, so..." I gulped at the narrowed eyes of my observers. "It couldn't hurt?"</p><p>"On the contrary, Mr. Olympus," piped one man who scowled at me, "it could hurt your company very much. To extend your company to foreign markets would require you to hire more employees, increase production, increase your payment of transportation, not to mention nobody in other countries is aware of your company, so you'd have to advertise a great deal."</p><p>"Oh," was all I could say. I loosened my tie and looked back at the presenter. "Well, maybe you could give us some more information, and we could...go from there?"</p><p>The presenter held my gaze as he replied, "Certainly, Mr. Olympus."</p><p>The meeting continued on, with more horrible questions for me which I was entirely unqualified to answer. They asked me about employee wages, air delivery issues, factory regulations, and website updating. I answered practically every question with an "Uh, I don't know..." or "I would recommend asking my father about that, as he probably has a better answer for you." When it ended, the businessmen could hardly look at me, as they packed up their briefcases and muttered to each other, some snickering to themselves. I made my way out of the room with my head down, knowing that I had just royally blown that meeting.</p><p>I returned to the hotel, which was empty, as the other students were still on their fun shopping excursion in the famous streets of Paris. Fairy Godmother was the only Disney High member there, and she sat in the lobby, waiting for me to come in. When she spotted me, she put down her book and stood up to greet me. "How was the meeting, dear?" she asked sweetly.</p><p>I rubbed my neck. "Um, not so good, honestly."</p><p>She pouted. "Oh, that's okay, sweetheart. I'm sure you did your best." I wasn't convinced that was true. If I hadn't been so infatuated with Meg, I could have done better at that meeting. "We can meet the students at the Eiffel Tower this evening, if you'd like. We reserved the very top floor so that all of you children could be up there at once!"</p><p>"Yeah, maybe," I responded. "I'm going to go to my room first."</p><p>Fairy Godmother tried to study my face, but I averted my eyes from hers. "All right. I'll be down here if you need me, dear."</p><p>I nodded and trudged off to the elevator, taking off my tie when I finally stepped into my room. I changed my clothes into jeans and a hoodie, sitting on my bed and opening my laptop to look into some spiky platform boots that Meg had shown an interest in.</p><p>I didn't even open up Google when my dad's face appeared on the screen, requesting for a FaceTime call. I grimaced. He's probably already found out about my business failure of the day. I reluctantly answered him. His angry scowl showed up on my screen, and I knew I was in for it. "Hi, Dad," I said quietly.</p><p>"So, Hercules," he said sternly, his blue eyes cold. "How did your meeting go today?"</p><p>I sighed. "I'm sorry, Dad, I was distracted --"</p><p>"Distracted?" he repeated, his anger growing. "Distracted by what?"</p><p>"Nothing, Dad. It's just this girl --"</p><p>"Girl? What girl?" he demanded.</p><p>My face felt hot. It was none of his business. "No one, Dad! It's just a girl named Megara Creon, okay?"</p><p>My dad practically had fire in his eyes. "Megara Creon? Hercules, that is the adopted daughter of my brother!" My jaw dropped. I hadn't known that. "You're fraternizing with the enemy!"</p><p>"No, I'm not, Dad, that doesn't even make sense!" I yelled. Then I huffed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. She doesn't want to be with me."</p><p>"Good!" Zeus declared, authority in his voice. "You are to never speak to her again."<br/>My breath caught. "You can't do that!" I cried.</p><p>"Yes, I can, Hercules. This girl is meddling with your career, and I won't allow it. Stay away from her, boy."</p><p>In my rage, I slammed down on the end button, hanging up on my father and closing my laptop, tears forming in my eyes. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>CINDERELLA</p><p>"Hey Snow, could you hand me my white headband?" I asked, scanning the dresser for my accessory.</p><p>"This one?" Snow's voice asked, her hand emerging from the bathroom holding it.</p><p>"Thank you!" I said, taking it and carefully slipping it into my brushed hair.</p><p>"Your outfit is really cute, Cindy," Aurora complimented me as she got dressed. I smiled. I was wearing a cashmere sweater with a long blue skirt, and low white heels.</p><p>"Thank you!" I said, swishing the skirt. "I thought today was one of the most important days to be cute. Especially since we're going up the Eiffel Tower!"</p><p>"How's this?" Snow emerged from the bathroom in black pants, a tan turtleneck sweater and a brown trench coat, with a blue beret sitting on top of her black hair.</p><p>I clapped. "So cute, Snow," Aurora said with a smile. She was wearing jeans, a white sweater, and a fluffy pink coat over it. "Ready to go?" We all nodded, and Aurora slipped her hand into mine as we made our way out the door. Her hand was warm and soft and comforting as we walked down to the lobby. Snow leapt into Florian's arms as he gave her a kiss on the head, and Aurora greeted Philip with a kiss on the cheek. With a heavy heart, I spotted Henry lingering a few feet away, uncomfortably looking at the ground with his hands shoved in his pockets. I wished for the times where I could say hello to him too, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling his familiar pine scent. But with my hand in Aurora's, I knew that was impossible.</p><p>"Are you ready for the Champs-Elysees?" Florian asked Snow as they released their hug.</p><p>She smiled. "I'm so excited that we get to have a girls' shopping day!" she said, beaming at me and Rory. Snow had been looking forward to this day for months. It would be just the three of us, shopping for clothes and jewelry and accessories, just like we had done since the sixth grade. Except this time I could kiss Aurora whenever I felt like it.</p><p>"Well, the three of us will probably just stay at a restaurant the whole time, so if you need us, just give us a call," Philip said, grinning. Florian glanced back at Henry, who gave a halfhearted smile. </p><p>"Are you sure you won't be at a jewelry store?" Aurora asked him with a mischievous smirk. "I have been wanting a nice bracelet lately."</p><p>Philip laughed, his hand easily resting on her back. "We'll see," he said, tapping her forehead.</p><p>"Off we go, students!" Ms. Hearts yelled over our heads, and people began filing out of the hotel lobby.</p><p>"Bye!" Florian and Philip said, waving to us as they went to join Henry. My eyes couldn't help but linger on his face for a few moments. He looked so sad. For a moment, we made eye contact, and I tried to tell him: I miss you. He looked down quickly and the boys disappeared into the crowd.</p><p>Aurora squeezed my hand and we stepped into the slush of snow on the ground, marching down to the metro. The three of us talked about the purchases we were going to make, Paris's fashion trends, our expectations for one of the most famous shopping streets in the world.</p><p>We finally made it to our destination. Although it was cold and windy, the long street was filled with shoppers and tourists, bustling in and out of stores with bags riddled with merchandise and clothing. We were released from the observation of Ms. Hearts and Dean Queen for 3 hours, before we had to convene at the Arc de Triomphe, which rested at the crest of the street, towering over the cars that circled it.</p><p>Aurora, Snow and I immediately rushed to the nearby fashion store, followed by about a third of the girls in our class. We searched through the clothing racks, holding things up for approval from each other and piling things on our arms for trying them on. We slipped into the dressing rooms to change.</p><p>Aurora, Snow, and I opened our doors at the same time. "How about this?" Rory asked, holding out her arms.</p><p>My jaw dropped. She was wearing a short white dress, one that cinched down the center with large puffy sleeves. She wore white heels to match.</p><p>I smiled at her as she nervously tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear. She bit her lip as she waited for approval, and in response, I took her face in my hands and kissed her. Her eyes widened in surprise before she grinned into it, putting her hands on my waist. I finally let her go and our eyes locked. Her violet irises danced and shone, and I was about to kiss her again before Snow sang, "Awww!"</p><p>We both looked at her, startled. I smiled as Snow clasped her hands in joy, her brown eyes doey. "You guys are so cute!" she said.</p><p>Aurora and I stepped apart, blushing, until Aurora said, "I love that top on you, Snow."</p><p>She looked down and twirled in it. It was a silk black blouse, with a sweet collar and flowing sleeves. "Thank you!" she replied. "I think I'm going to get it."</p><p>Aurora looked back at me. "And I assume you like this dress?" she asked smugly, a glint in her eye.</p><p>I nodded, fighting down a broad smile. "Yes."</p><p>She giggled and turned back to the dressing room, giving me a wink before she closed the door. My heart fluttered as I stared after her for a moment, before glancing at Snow who was watching me. "What?" I asked, my face growing red.</p><p>Snow's red lips tugged into a grin. "Nothing. I'm just happy for you two."</p><p>I smiled at her, my lips still warm from Aurora's kiss. "Thanks, Snow."</p><p>I turned back into my dressing room, and when I looked in the mirror, my face was still bright pink with joy. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After another fashion store, Snow led us into a nice jewelry shop, filled with sparkling accessories inside glass cases. "Ooh, look!" Snow gravitated towards the necklace display, her eyes wide. Aurora continued to the bracelet section. I followed, remembering how she had told Philip that she wanted a new one.</p><p>"These are beautiful, Cindy," she said in amazement, her face lit up by the display case. I looked down at the one she was staring at. It was beautiful, with pale pink and blue gems encrusted on its surface. I glanced back up at Rory, who seemed to be entranced.</p><p>"Do you want to try it on?" I asked her, and she looked up at me in excitement.</p><p>"Can I?" she asked.</p><p>I laughed. "Of course." I called over a clerk and asked her for help in the little French that I remembered from my late father. She retrieved the bracelet for us and I helped Aurora fasten it.</p><p>"It fits perfectly," she sighed dreamily, admiring her glittering wrist.</p><p>I turned to the saleswoman, asking its price. "Combien?"</p><p>"1,999 euros."</p><p>Aurora gasped. "Oh, wow. Ella, that's like 2,500 dollars."</p><p>I glanced at her, then back at the expectant clerk. "Je l'achèterai," I said to her.</p><p>Aurora looked at me rapidly. "What? Ella, no, no, no, that's way too expensive."</p><p>I shrugged. "It's cheap for a bracelet like this." I confirmed with the saleswoman that it contained real gems and silver.</p><p>"I'll split it with you," Rory said firmly.</p><p>I shook my head and gave my card to the woman before Rory could protest further. "Ella!" she exclaimed in surprise.</p><p>I smiled at her. "You're my girlfriend now."</p><p>Aurora smiled back, her cheeks turning rosy. She kissed me sweetly on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll get you back for this."</p><p>The woman returned with my card. Snow purchased a small necklace with a pearl pendant, and the three of us exited the store, Aurora continuously glancing at her new bracelet. She took my hand as we walked down the snowy street, holding our shopping bags. "Hey, there's the boys!" Snow said, pointing to a restaurant front. Sure enough, Florian, Philip, and Henry stood in a line outside, chatting idly.</p><p>We rushed towards them. I was hesitant to talk with Henry, to meet his sad eyes again, but we greeted them in their line. "Hey, princess," Philip said, kissing Aurora. I self-consciously let go of her hand.</p><p>"Look what Cindy got me!" Rory said eagerly, showing him her new bracelet.</p><p>Philip's eyes widened, and then he laughed. "Well, this is embarrassing." From a small shopping bag, he pulled out a box and opened it to Aurora, revealing another bracelet, a simple gold one.</p><p>Aurora was silent for a moment while we all awaited her response. "Well," she said, a smile growing, "dating both of you does have its perks, doesn't it. Now I have two bracelets."</p><p>She kissed Philip as we laughed, and I watched with a twinge of jealousy as she slipped on her second bracelet. I avoided looking at Philip. Why did I feel so awkward? I was prepared for things like this to happen.</p><p>We were led into the restaurant to a table for six. "Sit by me, Cindy," Aurora said, holding onto one of my fingers as she sat down next to Philip. As I sat down, I looked up to see that Henry had paused behind the seat across from me. We locked eyes. His brown ones were so warm and familiar...and sad.</p><p>"Henry!" Snow piped up, her high voice cutting through the tension. "Could we trade? I'd like to sit by the window, if you don't mind."</p><p>Henry tore his eyes from mine, looking at Snow to smile and nod, walking to the seat furthest from me. When Snow sat down, I smiled at her in thanks. I glanced at Henry, hoping to meet his eyes again. I did. Aurora squeezed my hand under the table, and I had never felt more torn. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ELSA</p><p>"And so that's why I think that Olaf should be in my will," Anna concluded happily. Kristoff and I burst into laughter, and Anna smiled and asked, "What? I'm for real, guys!"</p><p>"We know," I said, covering my mouth as I tried to contain my giggles. "That's why it's so funny."</p><p>Then Anna started laughing too, and she hit me and Kristoff playfully. "Disney High, get off here!" we heard Ms. Hearts yell from the front of the metro car. We slowed to a stop and the doors slid open, students flooding out around us like an avalanche.</p><p>We made our way up the crowded staircase and out into the cold night air. It was loud and breezy, but then we all turn around to see the Eiffel Tower, lit up against the dark sky. It glittered in gold, dazzling lights sparkling off it. Our group of students gasped in awe as spotlights poured from the top of the tower, illuminating the darkness.</p><p>"It's gorgeous," I breathed. I had seen it in pictures, but right in front of us, the Eiffel Tower seemed ten times more marvelous.</p><p>Our chaperones then led us towards the tower's entrance, as we were to ride to the top. Anna's hand was intertwined in Kristoff's, and they talked cheerfully as I followed. Their happiness made me glow. And, to my surprise, didn't make me jealous. Jack and I had been on a break for almost three weeks, but since we got to Paris, I had hardly thought of him. I had a degree of freedom, being alone. It was nice, being alone. I haven't really had a chance to get to know myself and my own thoughts ever since Jack and I had started dating last year. But with no one to worry about, I could feel okay. I wasn't a burden to anyone, and that made me relieved.</p><p>I still missed him, though. His good morning texts and the ways he looked out for me when I was feeling anxious. But I knew that this break was best for both of us. I knew that dating me was a hassle for him -- I always ran away, or was having panic attacks, or my powers were too dangerous to control. Without him, I could make sure that he wasn't laden down with all of my problems.</p><p>We all entered the courtyard directly underneath the tower. People's faces were turned up to look at the tall building over our heads while Dean Queen went to claim our reservations. "Is this a bad time to mention that I'm afraid of heights?" Tramp asked nearby.</p><p>Kristoff, Anna and I stepped onto the fifth elevator that came down to retrieve us students. We were squished in with Judy, Nick, Tramp, Flynn, Nala, Anya, and Dmitri, but Anna and I looked out the window in wonder as the elevator began moving upwards. The steel structure flew past us, lit up in gold, and we continued ascending into the air. The city below grew smaller and smaller, morphing into blurred buildings with just a few blinking lights.</p><p>We exited the elevator at the top, and were immediately blasted with an icy wind. "Holy moly!" Anna exclaimed at the cold, pulling her coat around her. Kristoff put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arms to warm her up. The cold only gave me a slight chill, and I smiled a bit.</p><p>Anna pulled me and Kristoff up to an empty spot by the fence. The world seemed to lie below us. Everything seemed so small, like we were the only things that existed.</p><p>I stared out at the twinkling lights of Paris, pointing out the Louvre to Anna. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around.</p><p>Jack stood there, holding a box in his hand and giving me a small smile. "Hi, Elsa. I was wondering if we could talk?"</p><p>My stomach filled with nerves and I unconsciously took a step back, bumping into Anna. I turned to look at her for help, but she nodded and smiled encouragingly, giving me a light push towards him. Jack took my hand and he started to lead me to the other side of the tower, to a quieter spot.</p><p>I couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.</p><p>Jack finally turned to face me, taking a deep breath. The orange light of the tower's interior shone on his face harshly, making him seem almost ugly. I dropped my hand from his.</p><p>"So, Elsa..." he began, looking at me meaningfully. I glanced at the box in his hand. "Today is our one year anniversary."</p><p>My stomach dropped. "Jack..." I stepped backwards, looking around to find a friend to get me out of here.</p><p>He caught my wrist and I reluctantly turned back to him. "No, I know, I'm sorry, but I thought we could make an exception for the break just for this one time. Please? I...I got you this."</p><p>He opened the box slowly, to reveal a delicate, beautiful snowflake necklace. It must have cost him a lot, a lot of money that I knew he didn't have to spare. I ached at the thought.</p><p>I tried to push the box away. "Jack, I can't do this—"</p><p>"Wait, no!" he interrupted. "Forget the anniversary. I don't care. Just take the necklace and I won't talk to you until school, I promise."</p><p>I shook my head. "No, it's not just that. It's everything. This relationship, it's so one-sided. Can't you see? You pour your heart and soul into me. I know you do, and I will forever be grateful. But I have realized that I'm not ready. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to open myself up to someone like you have opened yourself up to me." I was sobbing now. The wind and the cold bit at the tears falling down my cheeks. For once, goosebumps raised on my arms and I shivered. But I continued to break his heart, and I watched his eyes pool with tears too. "And it's not your fault, I swear. You have done everything right. I have done everything wrong. I apologize. And I want you to know that I still do love you, I always will. I just don't want you to keep getting hurt over and over because of me, because it hurts knowing that I can't give you anything, while you give me everything. It's over, Jack. It's for both of us."</p><p>"Elsa-" he said, his voice breaking.</p><p>"No, Jack, please. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life running after me in the forest. I don't want you to constantly feel this anxiety that I carry with me. I don't want you to feel like I am a burden. I'm doing this because I love you, don't you understand? I am the problem."</p><p>Crying, he shook his head, unable to form words. It broke my heart. He held up the snowflake necklace again, to replace his broken voice. I looked at it in pity. "Okay, I will take this. I know it will make you feel better, and I just want you to be happy."</p><p>I hurriedly took the beautiful necklace out of the box and placed it around my neck. I looked down at it, shining beautifully, mocking our tears. I looked back at Jack.</p><p>I kissed him one last time. I kissed him on the top of the Eiffel Tower, the moment the lights began to sparkle for the city of Paris. We were both crying, we were both heartbroken, but I knew that that kiss would stay in my mind for the rest of my life.</p><p>I finally let go of him, wiping his tears, before slowly walking away. I kept myself from looking back as we left each other.</p><p>We were both shivering. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Author's Note: phewwwwwww sorry that was sad. I was actually starting to like writing jelsa but ive had this plan since the beginning. sorry jelsa shippers :(</p><p>anywayyyyyy. meg is now refusing to move forward with hades' plan, but it seems to already be working. will meg's influence hurt hercules and his relationship with his father? will olympus prime eventually fall to the underworld? and how will cinderella cope with sharing her girlfriend, while also feeling bad about her ex-boyfriend henry?</p><p>Question of the Chapter: Who is your favorite Disney parent(s)?</p><p>My Answer: Mrs. Darling from Peter Pan is just lovely. She seems to be so caring and sweet and elegant, and her children love her a lot. I also love Madame Adelaide from the Aristocats because she's the best cat parent ever, and she is what I hope to be one day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>From my work on Wattpad, please go check out my profile there @questwing !</p></blockquote></div></div>
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